Traditionally, precious metal investor coins like the American Eagle have been valued for their bullion content alone. IPM has built countless success stories based on another vital but often overlooked secondary market for bullion coins that is based on the rarity and investor/collector demand for previous issue gold, silver and platinum coins.

IPM analysts have made an art of identifying key opportunities associated with all coins of the modern U.S. bullion program, begun in 1986. Simple as the strategy appears, it does take more market information and research than the individual investor could manage on his or her own. The phenomenon of significantly enhanced values for certain coin issues is widely recognized by the collector community, yet it has not been exploited in a systematic way. The ability to consistently capitalize on this phenomenon has launched IPM to a position among the top names in the precious metals coin market.

There was a time not so long ago when there was a wide chasm that separated rare coin "collectors" and modern bullion "investors." There are various forces in the respective cultures of the collector and investor spheres that drive these elements apart. These tend to label and segregate goals and intentions in an artificial and unproductive manner. Modern issue coins were spurned by the collector community. The notion of secondary market value was shunned by bullion investors. Though neither side gained anything from these notions, they remained firmly rooted even as pioneering firms such as IPM quietly positioned their clients in the vacant but fertile middle ground and enjoyed great success.

While some opposition between these camps remains, the middle ground has grown considerably and gained mainstream acceptance. Along with a few firms like IPM, television and the internet have brought new focus on modern-issue Eagle fractional coins, particularly those that have been certified and encapsulated by third-party grading services (see related story, page 14). Even some stalwart icons of the investor/collector divide are ceding to the new realities of the modern precious metals coin market. Recent articles in publications including Wall Street Journal, Coin World and Numismatic News all mark a shift towards this new way of thinking.

IPM has always been at the forefront of this powerful market dynamic, and can lay claim to a level of success that few precious metals coin dealers can. The company's guiding market philosophy has always been a simple but powerful one: Given that low mintage U.S. Mint uncirculated coins enjoy both a bullion value and an independent collector value, they have in effect a built-in hedge for the individual investor, which can yield profit opportunities regardless of metal market trends.

The key to producing real returns for its clients is simple: Identify U.S. Mint uncirculated coins whose sales trend numbers suggest a low final mintage and recommend them to clients, especially when metal prices move in a favorable direction. Then, identify the key opportunities for the investor to liquidate or reallocate. This is not rocket science to be sure, but many IPM clients tell us that their previous broker never, not even a single time, called them with an opportunity to liquidate or reallocate their holdings and enjoy a profit. IPM stands head and shoulders above other national coin dealers when it comes to the systematic re-purchase of U.S. Mint uncirculated coins. Someone in IPM's marketing department once put it this way: "We'd be tempted to call this common sense, but given how uncommon the practice is in the industry, we've decided to call it The IPM Difference.'

Whatever IPM clients choose to call it, they can rest assured that IPM stands committed to building success stories for them. Company founder and president Carl Wright has earned lasting respect from colleagues, clients and competitors alike for his true dedication to a "win/win" philosophy in an age where much lip service is paid to the idea but little is expected in execution. Wright has kept a steady hand at the helm of the company since its inception in 1995 and has remained committed to keeping IPM at the forefront of the market by focusing on strategies that work for both company and client. "I had worked in this sector for most of my adult life when I started the company. I saw an opportunity to do things differently, that took a longer view of client relationships than was practiced elsewhere. Twelve years out, I am proud of what we've accomplished and excited to continue building on the formula."