What you can collect - Part 2: Coins

Coins have an obvious connection to both precious metals and currency but they can also capture more history than any other widely collected asset.

The first coins were used in the seventh century BC and have been used across the world ever since. This means they are excellent way of viewing the ancient world and tracking the expansion and contractions of the empires of the past.

Coins have been regularly used as both propaganda tools and records of significant events. For example:

How was Alexander the Great going to let his vast empire know they were under his control – he produced coins with his image on to let his new subjects know.

Or when Charles I was in the middle of the civil war. He produced a coin where he holds both a sword and an olive branch – showing he wanted peace but was happy to go to war.

There is no doubt that coin collecting is the best way you can build a collection based on history. If there is a particular period if time that fascinates hen you can concentrate on this period or you can cover all of the history of a country from a particular time period.

One of the popular subjects for coin collectors (numismatists) is portraiture: coins can be the only realistic way of owning the likeness of a well known ruler such as Julius Caesar or Henry VIII.

Coin collecting is a truly international pursuit and has been one of the most consistent performers in terms of price appreciation and stability. According to Knight Frank’s ‘Wealth Report 2018’ over the last 10 years coins are the 3rd best performing asset with prices increasing by 182% (with classic cars in 1st and wine in 2nd)

Record Coin Prices

Amercain Flowing Hair Silver Dollar - $10,016,875

Islamic Coin - $6,039,400

Chinese Coin - $1,298,000

British Coin - $900,000