To ask if Royal Mint 'limited edition' coins are worth buying?

[MothPhobic]

I'm not really into coin or stamp collecting, but I often see the Royal Mint and Royal Mail releasing special commemorative limited edition coins and stamps.

I've always considered these to be a bit pointless and assumed they'd not really be worth anything. But I do think some of them are quite cute, pretty or unique.

www.royalmint.com/shop/

There's a LE coin with coloured enamel that I actually really like and am considering buying. It's only about £30, so hardly a large investment. I've also considered buying a children's character coin or stamp set for my daughter for Christmas. But still, I wonder if I'd be completely wasting £30 on a fancy
50p coin. Do they hold their value over the years (even if the same as the purchase price)?

I'd like to assume the very expensive limited coins and stamps may increase in value over time, but what about the more 'basic' ones that aren't limited in numbers or limited but to a larger run of 7500 coins?

No! Not worth anything. My husband’s aunt had bought hundreds of these and when he looked up the value there was nil. It’s a scam.

No idea about stamps, but gold/silver always holds value so I disagree with the above poster who says they are worth nil. I don't know about the specific LE you are talking about, but if it contains even 1g of gold/silver it's value will never be nil. If it's only £30 and you really like it, just buy it!

My dad collects proper silver and gold coins as they always retain a value and tend to be very stable. There is zero value in enamel Coins etc but there CAN be value in certain circulated Coins, the rare 50p pieces for example. Some of them are worth £1-300 EACH. So much better off paying for things in cash and asking for 50ps a in the change and just collecting coins that way. If you know a new release is going to be out on the 1st of January for example, you can go to the post office and specifically ask for them in your change

As collectible items, there are some cute ones, and I’d probably only buy them in that vein. My grandfather collected RM LE coins for decades. We had them appraised when he died and there were a couple which had gained some modest value, but otherwise they were just nice keepsakes and many hadn’t even held their purchase value: like with buying a brand new car, for most people who buy them as collectibles or gifts I suspect there’s a lot in the ritual around them of buying shiny and pristine and untouched rather than secondhand, which renders the more common ones a bit pointless once driven off the forecourt so to speak.

Thanks everyone. As I suspected. Probably just a nice keepsake then. I'll have a better think about whether it's something I actually want to spend my money on. I've got ADHD, so impulsive buys are my specialty. It'd likely just get lost in a drawer after a few months never to be seen again

Do you have a Drawer of Doom MothPhobic?