The market for trading coins is international in nature and significant in size. Over the last few months, there has been an increasing interest in the coin sector and its prominence as an alternative investment class is illustrated by recent increases in activity across the world, where record prices have been paid for certain rare pieces, especially in the UK and in the US. The UK market is still trading below the levels of the US market, but the gap is narrowing and the US market does provide an insight into the significant sums being paid for individual coins. For example, in the US a 1933 double eagle coin sold for over $7.6 million, whereas the most expensive individual British coin fetched £0.4 million at auction in 2006.

The number of interested parties in coins and coin collections appears to be continuing to grow rapidly, with auction houses, particularly in the UK, in some cases witnessing increases of more than 50 per cent. in the numbers of interested bidders compared to the corresponding auctions the previous year.

Historically, if purchased correctly, investments in coins can not only reduce the risk of overall investment portfolios, but can also produce significantly better returns than investments in equities, bonds or property. Individual coins and coin collections have historically produced annual compound returns in excess of 10 per cent.