Investing in rare coins is a wise investment, but before beginning your coin collection you should know what coins to be looking for.
Rare coins are usually classified by mint date and metal composition. In general, older coins will be worth more money. However, newer coins with an especially high content of precious metals may have higher prices as well, especially if the coin has a high gold content. Additionally, coins with mistakes in the minting will hold more value and make for stronger investments. For example, the 1804 Class 1 Silver Dollar was actually pressed 30 years after the date on the coin -- this mistake has increased the value of the coin to over 3.5 million dollars.
When choosing which rare coins to invest in, look at the age of the coin but also look at the mintage size and how many coins were put into common circulation that year. The less coins in circulation, the higher the price of the coin. For example, a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel can sell for more than 3 million dollars because there are only five of them that ever made it to the public. For smaller but more numerous investments, you should look for silver coins. Silver coins are more commonly circulated, which means they will be easier to find and their price will generally be lower than coins with high gold content.
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