10 Popular Collectibles That Never Paid Off

[Tyrock]

I also follow finances and one of the leading financial personalities with a large radio audience sent out an email with the above title. Included on his list were collectible coins. I can agree with the baseball cards and Precious Moments, but I can't go along with coins being on the list. Sorry Dave, but we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. In his defense, he did admit that he doesn't know much about coins. So that makes me wonder where he came up with them in the first place.

[jom]

I also follow finances and one of the leading financial personalities with a large radio audience sent out an email with the above title. Included on his list were collectible coins. I can agree with the baseball cards and Precious Moments, but I can't go along with coins being on the list. Sorry Dave, but we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. In his defense, he did admit that he doesn't know much about coins. So that makes me wonder where he came up with them in the first place.

 

It should make us wonder about the basis for ALL of his list. Who was it that did this? Who is David?

 

jom

[World Colonial]

I suspect the key word is "never". I suspect that his list is accurate and representative of most people, not everyone. But then, I don't then I don't believe there is any reason to believe most or everyone will make money on anything.

[RWB]

The phrase " leading financial personalities with a large radio audience" is a huge warning sign posted on the road to good judgement.

[Tyrock]

Dave Ramsey. Here's the full list:

1. Hummels

2. Baseball Cards

3. Happy Holiday Barbies

4. Collectible Coins and Plates

5. Star Wars Action Figures

6. Cabbage Patch Kids

7. PEZ Dispensers

8. Comic Books

9. Precious Moments Figures

10. Stamps

 

[coinman_23885]

The phrase " leading financial personalities with a large radio audience" is a huge warning sign posted on the road to good judgement.

 

+1

[coinman_23885]

Dave Ramsey. Here's the full list:

1. Hummels

2. Baseball Cards

3. Happy Holiday Barbies

4. Collectible Coins and Plates

5. Star Wars Action Figures

6. Cabbage Patch Kids

7. PEZ Dispensers

8. Comic Books

9. Precious Moments Figures

10. Stamps

 

How is it that coins are a poorer investment than stamps? The stamp market is pretty much in a permanent coma if not death.

[RWB]

"3. Happy Holiday Barbies"

 

But the "Happy Hooker Barbies" have done well, or so I was told.....

[physics-fan3.14]

Given their presence on that list, and the type of material it represents, I strongly suspect that he is referring to modern mint hype, NCLT, and QVC specials.

 

I doubt he is referring to rare and/or classic coins, or the hobby in general.

 

 

[mzhammer]

Interesting... I just happened into your neck of the woods from the comic book collecting forum. I see this list has comic books on it, and yes, there are terrible investments in comics, but there are also wonderful investments. I would imagine the same of coins?!?!?!

[jom]

Well, Ramsey is a pretty good guy actually. He should list something he knows very little about however.

 

Nonetheless, I've never thought collecting coins (or any of the other things on his list) is a particularly good investment. That goes for most collectables given the high transaction costs and thin market. So overall this is not much of a surprise to me....

 

jom

[BKW]

Dave Ramsey. Here's the full list:

1. Hummels

2. Baseball Cards

3. Happy Holiday Barbies

4. Collectible Coins and Plates

5. Star Wars Action Figures

6. Cabbage Patch Kids

7. PEZ Dispensers

8. Comic Books

9. Precious Moments Figures

10. Stamps

 

Since I don't collect "coins and plates" I'm not worried.

[brg5658]

Dave Ramsey. Here's the full list:

1. Hummels

2. Baseball Cards

3. Happy Holiday Barbies

4. Collectible Coins and Plates

5. Star Wars Action Figures

6. Cabbage Patch Kids

7. PEZ Dispensers

8. Comic Books

9. Precious Moments Figures

10. Stamps

 

Since I don't collect "coins and plates" I'm not worried.

 

I was thinking the same thing. How on earth did he lump together coins and plates? They are both round, so they can be grouped together?

[KeyMan64]

I think the "Collectible Coins and Plates" refers to the plates/spoons/state quarter garbage that was sold on the US Mint website and by TV hucksters.

 

I have made plenty of money off of Baseball Cards, Collectible Coins, Original Star Wars action figures from the late 70s and early 80s, Comic Books and 1980s Transformers.

 

You clearly have to be a lot smarter than this guy, Dave, though!

[wdrob]

I think the "Collectible Coins and Plates" refers to the plates/spoons/state quarter garbage that was sold on the US Mint website and by TV hucksters.

 

That is the way I perceived that as well.

 

Dave Ramsey was O.K to listen to for a short period of time but some of his advice tends to ignore the consequence. For example: He advocates No Credit At All in our society where a good credit score is nearly essential. He tells folks to pay off their mortgage. Seems like a good thing, right? I know I thought it was when I did just that.

 

My credit score dropped considerably. Why? According to the credit bureaus: Having a mortgage shows lenders that you can handle the responsibilities of large credit amounts.

 

OK. The payoff was worth the drop in my credit score, right? Wrong! Dave Ramsey fails then to tell you that with your now weaker credit score the modern day Al Copone's of this world (the insurance industry) lobbied congress long ago to allow them to base you insurance rates on what? Your credit score!

 

So I am an over 50 man who has had two accidents in a motor vehicle in my whole life (both were from being hit from behind) and the rip off Progressive wants to charge me over $800.00 a year on my Harley Davidson motorcycle. A vehicle that is driven only a portion of the time.

 

If my credit was bad I would be in real trouble. In other words -- if I had listened to Dave Ramsey and followed to a 't' I would have no credit rating at all. How much would Progressive then charge me???

 

 

[physics-fan3.14]

Ramsey has a good plan for a certain type of person - the person who doesn't know much about money, is deep in debt, and has no idea how to get out of it. His plan is about discipline - this type of person doesn't have financial discipline, and needs help. Ramsey's plan is very successful at helping people get out of debt, if they are willing to follow his plan.

 

Beyond that scope, Ramsey's advice is questionable at best. My brother is a huge follower, and we have had many long discussions about this topic. It worked for him, but it is not my cup of tea.

[BillJones]

I have never seen or heard of an advisor who markets Wall Street type investments ever say anything good about collecting coins. For them coins are competition.

 

Having said that, I would not recommend coins as an investment vehicle either, especially for the average person who knows nothing about grading, eye appeal and history. Most of the people who do well with coins financially are collectors or dealers who love or enjoy the hobby.

 

Still looking at his list, there are a lot of financial losers there, especially the Hummel figures and from my perspective stamps, which died years ago.

 

[jpcienkus]

I think the "Collectible Coins and Plates" refers to the plates/spoons/state quarter garbage that was sold on the US Mint website and by TV hucksters.

 

That is the way I perceived that as well.

 

Dave Ramsey was O.K to listen to for a short period of time but some of his advice tends to ignore the consequence. For example: He advocates No Credit At All in our society where a good credit score is nearly essential. He tells folks to pay off their mortgage. Seems like a good thing, right? I know I thought it was when I did just that.

 

My credit score dropped considerably. Why? According to the credit bureaus: Having a mortgage shows lenders that you can handle the responsibilities of large credit amounts.

 

OK. The payoff was worth the drop in my credit score, right? Wrong! Dave Ramsey fails then to tell you that with your now weaker credit score the modern day Al Copone's of this world (the insurance industry) lobbied congress long ago to allow them to base you insurance rates on what? Your credit score!

 

So I am an over 50 man who has had two accidents in a motor vehicle in my whole life (both were from being hit from behind) and the rip off Progressive wants to charge me over $800.00 a year on my Harley Davidson motorcycle. A vehicle that is driven only a portion of the time.

 

If my credit was bad I would be in real trouble. In other words -- if I had listened to Dave Ramsey and followed to a 't' I would have no credit rating at all. How much would Progressive then charge me???

 

 

Great points Bill. I've also likened Insurance to the mob. Protection money.

 

I've listened to Dave Ramsey on and off for many years. He has sound advice in some areas, but like you pointed out, some not so great advice as well.

 

He preaches financial discipline and that's always a good thing. There are many people in the U.S. who are clueless about finances.

[MJ]

Pfffttttt...... Vintage rookie sports cards are at an all time high.

 

I just consigned to a June auction and I fully expect a six figure hammer. I'm into these cards for considerably less. A lot were bought in the past 5 years.

 

 

Mark

[messydesk]

The phrase " leading financial personalities with a large radio audience" is a huge warning sign posted on the road to good judgement.

Is it one of those shows that's prefaced with, "The following is paid programming meant for entertainment purposes only and is not to be used as financial advice?"

[wdrob]

Both!

 

 

Great points Bill. I've also likened Insurance to the mob. Protection money.

 

Oh, don't get me started on Insurance companies. I could write an entire book outlining how corrupt their lobbying efforts have been and the negative results of members of congress on their payroll --- that is if I did not mind floating in the nearest river, bloated, with bot flies hanging on for the ride!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[O mint bug]

I guess you would have to put common stocks in with his bottom ten since the DOW was 10,000 in 1999 and is now only 18,000 16 years later. High end stamps and coins have very much outperformed the Dow. Ole Dave must have bought his coins on Ebay and stamps by the sheet at the Post Office. A quick look at what quality rare coins have done on H.A.com will show you what his comments are worth. Like anything else high quality coupled with low pop and time wins. I paid $525 for a strong full horn Buffalo from a dealer in the mid 1970s and I doubt it could be bought for 15x that. Ditto on a AU 1937 D three leg Buffalo in EFI boght for $50. Sold em when I was starting a family and buying a house in 1992 when the coins shops had folded up because the hobby was dead at a nice profit. I am bullish long term on quality coins and a few early U.S. high end stamps. Foreign investors are coming in the market and baby boomers are selling their 1960s cars and buying higher end coins now that they can afford some.

 

The common and modern material are probably stagnant to down but not the high end and this won't change. Frankly I think the best time to buy quality assets is when many others want to sell. I saw several people come to the southwestern U.S. ( Texas ) and buy good real estate during the 1980s when the oil bust hit. They all made a very significant amount of money.

[Conder101]

You notice that most (if not all) of that list is made up of items that were created as "collectibles" with the intent of them being sold to "collectors" as an heirloom to be handed down or as an "investment" (though they usually won't use that word). Created collectibles are rarely if ever a good idea.

[Star City Homer]

Dave Ramsey. Here's the full list:

1. Hummels

2. Baseball Cards

3. Happy Holiday Barbies

4. Collectible Coins and Plates

5. Star Wars Action Figures

6. Cabbage Patch Kids

7. PEZ Dispensers

8. Comic Books

9. Precious Moments Figures

10. Stamps

 

Wow, he forgot Beanie Babies.

 

The way the list is written as 'collectibles that never paid off', I'm going with the idea of the Franklin Mint, NCLT, QVC and the old Sunday paper insert advertised stuff.

 

It seems like manufactured collectibles will flash, them fade...others will fade when the collectors age out. My DH loved Flintstone stuff, still has it, but the collector group is rapidly fizzling out. They are not so valuable anymore and I suspect the kids will be throwing them out someday.

 

Now, if I just wait about five more years I'm sure my original NIB Power Ranger figures will be hot, right??

 

[Rickey]

Isn't he the guy who said stay away from gold when it was in the $400 range???

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

Apparently, Miley Cyrus Collectibles are not doing to badly, and are not to expensive, from what I gather from another knowledgeable Board member.

[wdrob]

Isn't he the guy who said stay away from gold when it was in the $400 range???

 

I don't even remember him being on the radio at that time. I think he was in the midst of recovering from bankruptcy.

 

Could be wrong.

 

I can remember well standing on the back porch with my neighbor, when I lived in Utah, we had just mowed the grass and were having a beer together and talking about futures and commodities. Gold was at $300.00 or so an oz and we both stayed away and lost money in crude.

 

I should have never listened to him. I think he smoked pot too.

 

 

[johnny9434]

"3. Happy Holiday Barbies"

 

But the "Happy Hooker Barbies" have done well, or so I was told.....

thats what i was told to

[SkyMan]

I guess you would have to put common stocks in with his bottom ten since the DOW was 10,000 in 1999 and is now only 18,000 16 years later...

 

I notice that you mention quality rare coins, but take the Dow as a whole. If you bought some obvious quality Dow stocks in 1999 you would be much better off than up 80% in 16 years. Let's not forget, many of the higher quality Dow stocks throw off dividends, which you could either spend or reinvest in the stock, and over time, those dividends tend to increase.

 

Let's take a middle of the road Dow stock, like Coca-Cola. (All figures are adjusted for splits). On April 1, 1999 it was quoted at more or less an all time high P/E ratio, (it's 1999 annualized P/E was 47.5) and sold for $23.03 a share. It currently sells for $40.51 (with a P/E of 25.3) so it somewhat underperformed the Dow with a total return of ~ 76% over 16 years... remember this was buying it at essentially it's peak P/E.

 

Back in 1999 Coke's dividend was $0.32 a year. or roughly 1.39%. Coke's current dividend is $1.32, so if you just held on to the stock, spending the dividends you received in the intervening 16 years as free money (minus taxes) along the way your CURRENT yield would be 5.73%. Not bad for a no brainer of a stock with no real risk, and buying it at about as expensive as it ever gets.

[Conder101]

Isn't he the guy who said stay away from gold when it was in the $400 range???

I don't know, but if you checked you could probably find some who did. Of course if you checked you could probably find a lot that were advising you to buy gold when it was $1800+.

 

Most anything can be a good or bad investment depending on when you buy or sell it.