The article is broken up into separate posts - The coin investments list is at the end of the articleBuyers of investment-grade coins are swooping back into the market. The coins selling most vigorously are the gold, and NCS conserved silver. I believe silver has the most growth potential, due to the lower prices and more people who can afford them. Gold, however, is very often preferred by the wealthy people who are least affected by economic downturns. I expect the buying decision between gold or silver to be a difficult one.
It's hard to stick with silver and all its merits when you see the money going into gold more aggressively. Diversification is a good strategy for handling this, and remember, rarity and relative rarity are what you are looking for. Popularity is your guide, but rarity is your choice. Choose the rarest coins within the most popular sets. That's relative rarity, and it is where the profits will be concentrated.
Relative rarity is especially important in gold, where almost all coins have much lower mintages than their silver counterparts.
My choicesFocus your purchases on rarity together with popularity during this weak market.
* Coins in a 70 grade
* Dragon and phoenix (marriage theme symbolism)
* Peacocks (marriage theme symbolism)
* Pandas, especially silver, the rarer the better
* Normal sized expo pandas, especially gold accented silver ones, and silver Munich expo medals
* 1979 year of the child, and possibly other child-themed coins like the 1989 children's fund panda
* 1990 goldfish medals
* God of longevity 3 tael silver medals
* Almost all medals are underpriced - buy the rarest, most popular ones first
Remember, there are several kinds of rarity, in order of importance:
* Mintage rarity
* Grade rarity
* Relative rarity within a series ("key" coins)
* Variety rarity/popularity (you have to have popularity too)