Its been almost a year since I wrote about investing in coins – Investment of a different Kind Buy collectible coins.

Gold and Silver prices have sea-sawed in this timeframe. We saw Gold hitting lows of 1536 and highs of 1794 whereas Silver went to highs of 37.14 and lows of 26.35.

But what happened to the value of coins?

The Bullion category like – American Silver Eagles, Austrian Phila and Canadian Maple leaves have moved slong with the silver price. However the Australian Mint – Kookaburras and Lunar Series, Chinese Pandas and Canadian wildlife series have shown reaonable appreciation.

The 2012 Lunar Dragon 1 oz Silver coin that was launched at SGD$60 a piece now sells for SGD$75 or more (25% appreciation)

The 2012 1 oz silver Panda moved from SGD$53 to SGD$60 (13% appreciation)

Canadian Wildlife Wolf 1 oz silver that was selling for SGD60 in the last year now retails for over SGD90 – a whooping 50% increase.

Silver however has remained flat year over year (One could have bought these coins for cheaper when  the silver price fell to 26-27USD).

So which coins am I looking to invest in for the next year?

Australian Lunar series and Kookaburra is a favorite, 2013 is the year of the snake and mintage remains at only 300,000 pieces. Kookaburra mintage however has been increased to 1,000,000 pieces from 500,000 for 2012.

Canadian Wildlife series – Antelope – mintage of 1,000,000 and 5th coin in the series. Only one more coin to come

Somalia Elephants – These are my new favorites. The finish is proof like (shiny back surface) and mintage only 5000 coins, These coins have been around for a few years but have only caught on now. The past years have appreciated substantially and difficult o find. years 2011, 2012 and 2013 are still available at a reasonable price

Rwanda Wildlife – These are great coins with a mintage of 5000 pieces as well, Just like the Somalia Elephants the past years are hard to find. The 2013 Cheetah is already becoming difficult to buy and 2012 Rhino is in great demand. Previous years like Gorilla and lion retail for over 250SGD.

What I also like about Rwanda and Somalia coins is that these are minted in germany and have excellent quality. With the wealth of these nations rising in next decade or so the appreciation of older coins from these countries is bound to increase.