the good ole days!

[panzerman]

Back in 1971/ Christies Auction this "unique" AV 10 Scudi 1503 from the Marquisate of Carmagnola sold for 100UK Pds/ in 2015 Morton & Eden for 54K UK Pds. 

Back in 1971/ what a time to snag great coins!

[DonnaML]

Just think about what the price of gold per ounce was back then!

[panzerman]

As far as inflation/ in 1971 A Canadian Silver Dollar = same buying power as (40) 2023 Loonies/ houses here that were 15K in 71 now sell for 1M+

Gold was $38US oz now over 2K

Same coin would sell in 2023 at least 100K or more....

Many FDC AV 10 Dukaten/ Scudi/ Zecchini today hammer over 100K

So, if you take inflation 40X 100 Pounds= 4000 UK Pounds today/ 2015 it hammered 54K Pounds= 540x increase.

In 1971 The RCM sold Iran Proof Set 1971 (4AV/5AR) for $261 Canadian/ today that set in GEM proof sell for 3K ( not a good buy) compared to classic 10 Scudi. Lesson modern coins are not a great investment.

All said 100 UK Pounds was a smashing deal in 71/ compared too 100K+ today.

But you are right to point out gold price in 71.

[Croatian Coin Collector]

I am always amazed when I see for how little money quality ancient coins were sold for decades ago.

[Hrefn]

Stack’s, October 20, 1960, this sold for $45.  The irregular border is an artifact of the photo software.   In 1992, it sold for $800.  

According to US government CPI calculations, the effect of official inflation would multiply the 1960 price 961.4%, roughly ten times, giving an inflation-adjusted price of about $450 today. 

Using the 1992 price as a baseline, the increase from inflation since 1992 is 123%, or 2.23 times the 1992 price, or about $1700 today.  

Several observations:  

Official government inflation figures suggest inflation was much worse between 1960-1992 than 1992-2024.  I think this is dubious.  

From an investment standpoint, much of the appreciation in coin prices is illusory.  (Obviously, numerous exceptions exist, especially among very high end coins.)  Over a long holding period, judging the success of an investment must always take the effect of inflation into account.  

Taxing capital gains on an investment, without adjusting the cost basis for the effect of inflation, results in real loss of capital as well as investment income.  The longer the holding period, the worse for the investor.  

 

Edited August 3 by Hrefn
Grammar