The subject of investing in precious metals has been a popular one for several years now as the United States’ economy took a turn for the worse. Individuals began looking for ways to protect their financial future and for many, investing in precious metals was the answer. As the article “Rare Coins and Future Investing” points out, interest in gold and silver in known to rise when a crisis is on the horizon. Other than that acknowledgement, this article does not offer too much useful information in regards to rare coins and investing.
If a reader were to judge by the title of the article he or she may assume they are going to learn a few things about rare coins as an investment toward the future. The author does mention brief tidbits of information about rare coins, such as they have a “certain value” but that is it. And really, it does not take a numismatist to know that coins have certain values. Much of the article is written in a teasing way, where the author begins to offer insight or information regarding rare coins or investing but then stops only to say “maybe this could happen.” In one such case the author states “Bullion coins are described as having a particular amount of pure gold.” But then offers no information as what that particular amount is. What makes a bullion coin?
The article is an extremely frustrating read, as though the author does not know anything about rare coins or investing and is dragging the reader along. Several paragraphs seem repetitive with one sentence being rewritten in a different way but still without offering any solid information. Instead, it leaves the reader with unanswered questions, such as how is the value of rare coins determined? The author mentions there are different ways but never says exactly what those ways are outside of purity. Yet, even with purity it is unclear what level of purity a rare coin needs in order to be considered valuable.
The author also jumps around to other forms of investment, including real estate, which seemed very out of place though was probably meant as a comparison to why investing in rare coins is a safer choice in today’s economy. However, if the reader is new to investing, he or she may not have picked up on that information. In addition, the article skips from rare coins to the discussion of gold. This section also seemed out of place for an article that is supposed to be about rare coins. If the author had discussed gold in relation to rare coins this would not have been as surprising. However, several sentences discuss gold in jewelry and its use in the medical and dental field. The author also brings up the subject of Western-style products gaining in popularity but yet, like most of the article, does not tell the reader what those products are.
Overall, this article did not offer any useful information and seemed as though the author was writing blindly with the hope that the reader would not notice the lack of information that it contained.
