clipped from: www.businesshackers.com The first coins ever invented were probably stamped ingots of electrum, a mixture of gold and silver, created by the Lydians, a people of Asia Minor, in about 650BC. The most famous Lydian was King Croesus who introduced pure gold coins and was the inspiration behind the expression ‘as rich as Croesus’. Will you become as rich as Croesus yourself if you invest in coins? With careful planning the answer could well be in the affirmative. Because according to specialists, Noble Investments, long-term coin collections spanning a period of 50 years or more have achieved compound annual returns of 8.7% - 10.5% a year – which certainly matches or betters just about every major stock market in the world. Furthermore, short-term performance has also been strong. A random portfolio of gold and silver coins selected from Spinks auction catalogue in 2000 would have shown a compound annual return of 12%.