What Are Semi-Numismatic Coins?

COINS WORTH MORE THAN THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD

Semi-numismatic coins are literally and figuratively worth a little more than their weight in gold (or silver, platinum or any other precious metal from which they are made). These coins have small collector premiums above the value that the coin would have if it were melted down for its metal value.

The spot price of gold, silver or other precious metals is the current price in the marketplace at which a given asset, such as one troy ounce of gold or silver, can be purchased or sold immediately “on the spot.”

Premium over spot indicates what the markup is for a particular bullion item over the current price per troy ounce for that specific metal type.

There are a few different types of hybrid-value coins that are available for purchase. Each has a particular role to play in an investment portfolio and they differ from one another in such areas as value volatility, price premium and number manufactured.

BULLION COINS

Bullion coins have their values based solely on the spot price of the bullion or metal from which the coin was made. A premium is that portion of the price that the marketplace determines that coin is worth above that spot price. Premiums on bullion coins are typically razor thin, but every mint, whether a sovereign mint or a private mint, does charge
a premium.

Remember, the United States Mint, and all sovereign mints, don’t sell their bullion coins at the spot price. The U.S. Mint, like all other mints, has to buy the actual gold or silver planchets or metal disks on which to strike or manufacture the coins. The mints that strike the coins buy the metal, refine it (if needed), prepare the dies, market their products and pay their employees. All of that costs money, so mints charge a premium over the spot price in order for them to make a profit. In typical markets, these mints charge a premium of anywhere from 1.5% to 3.5% over spot on a one troy ounce gold coin.

The premiums that all mints charge over spot is a higher percentage on silver than gold—about 7% to 10% over the spot price. Gold coins cost more, so their premium is lower percentage-wise.

Bullion coins typically have very high mintages and very low premiums. These coins are usually accumulated without regard to acquiring different dates or designs. Because bullion coins can be volatile in value and their prices are uncorrelated to the movements of the more traditional stock, mutual funds and bond markets, people use them to hedge their holdings of assets in traditional investment portfolios.

Pop culture numismatic coins are often monetized by South Pacific Island nations. These are the dominant countries that authorize these semi-numismatic coins.”

Some examples of bullion coins are South African Krugerrands, American Gold Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs.

NUMISMATIC COINS

Numismatic or rare coins may or may not be composed of a precious metal such as gold or silver. They can be made of copper, nickel or even paper—they do not need to contain any precious metal to have premium value. This “numismatic value” is determined by collectors. These coins fluctuate in price according to supply and demand. Some numismatic items can derive substantial value due to their extreme rarity and high collector demand.

Rare coins can include coins, currency, tokens, medals and other items that have collector value. Generally, these are not as volatile as bullion coins. Two examples of numismatic coin types are Morgan Silver Dollars and Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagles.

SEMI-NUMISMATIC COINS

Semi-numismatic coins are a hybrid of both bullion and numismatic coins. They are generally made of precious metal, such as gold or silver, but they have collector value and are both collected and accumulated.

Collectors prefer “coins” over “rounds,” as coins typically have limited and restricted mintages, as well as having been authorized by a sovereign nation. Only coins can display an actual denomination of value. These semi-numismatic coins are very much in demand due in part to their low mintages. They are unlike bullion coins that usually have very high mintages. Premiums start at 10% higher than bullion coins and may go significantly higher than that – up to 200% for a very popular, and limited mintage issue.

POP CULTURE COINS

Pop culture numismatic coins are often monetized by South Pacific Island nations. These are the dominant countries that authorize these semi-numismatic coins. The island of Niue is a self-governing island that is in “free association” with New Zealand. While it is tiny (a population of 1,681 people was recorded in 2022) it is a very popular destination for silver and gold rounds that dealers and mints want to be monetized into coins. In fact, Niue has monetized hundreds of different issues over the years.

What makes these pop culture coins so popular is that they often sport well-known designs. Many people who don’t collect coins or invest in bullion will buy these pop culture coins because they often use officially licensed designs of items popular and familiar in today’s culture.

Niue is not alone in monetizing rounds into coins. Other virtually unknown nations such as Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the Ascension Islands, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tokelau all monetize coins for a royalty fee. There are also some better-known nations such as Fiji, the Cook Islands and Samoa that offer these services.

If you like movies, there are semi-numismatic coins for such blockbusters as “E.T. the Extraterrestrial,” “Ghostbusters” and a large number of Disney and Pixar films.

If you’re a fan of the characters from Disney movies, a “Star Trek” episode, some of the “Star Wars” characters or “The Lord of the Rings,” there are lots of scenes, characters and places commemorated on silver or gold coins that you can easily collect. You can buy many of them in their original packaging or encapsulated and graded by a major, independent, third-party coin grading service. Some investors only want these low-mintage coins in their original packaging, while others prefer to have them graded and encapsulated.

Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its decades of movies and dozens of superheroes and villains are often depicted on silver and gold coins struck for the millions of Marvel Comics fans worldwide. These coins are struck in limited quantities to make them more desirable. Popular characters often sell out of stock within minutes of going on sale.

VIDEO GAME COIN THEMES

If you are interested in video games of all ages and genres, there are likely a number of coins you could collect. Most of the popular games have one or more coins displaying the game or the main characters. Such games as Tetris, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac- Man all have coins for you to collect.

If pop culture isn’t your collecting interest, creating collectible coins has spread to other collecting areas: NASA, NASCAR, General Motors, Ford and even rock bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, KISS and Aerosmith all have coins for you.

COCA-COLA PRODUCTS

Coca-Cola themed products such as advertising signs, bottle openers, even the bottles and bottle caps themselves have been collected for decades. With that kind of popularity, it only seems natural to have Coca-Cola collectible coins.

If you are the serious type, then look no further, as all of the branches of the U.S. military have coins or rounds to pique your collecting interest.

Semi-numismatic coins have attracted millions of people worldwide who bought a coin or round because they happened to like the subject matter. But many people get excited by amassing a collection of them. Some new collectors never realized that they truly were collectors at heart. A portion of the people new to the hobby start buying what they particularly like… and soon the collecting part becomes the most important to them.

That is how collectors are born.

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