Van Simmons, Founder of David Hall Rare Coins | Rule Symposium 2026: Rick Rule interviews

Rule Investment Media May 19, 2026

Summary

The platinum-gold ratio has inverted — 2.4 ounces of platinum now buy one ounce of gold — leading Simmons to favor platinum.

Gold and platinum have doubled while the rare coin market rose just 15 to 25%, which Simmons sees as deep undervaluation.

Billionaire collectors now want ten to thirty of the finest coins rather than hundreds, lifting six-figure coins toward seven figures.

To avoid shady dealers, Simmons says buy only PCGS-certified coins and hang up on cold callers promising prices will double.

Junk silver (pre-1965 90% silver dimes and quarters) now trades around $4 under spot, a discount created by backlogged refiners.

Top takeaway Rule argues that in a weak economy surplus money sits with wealthy people, so for roughly the next five years very high-quality assets such as top rare coins should outperform average and median-quality products.
He frames bullion as the beta and rare coins as the alpha for a metals investor, and asks Simmons where a newcomer who likes gold and silver should be allocated now.
He states that Battle Bank is considering financing the most liquid rare-coin markets and would accept no collateral not in a PCGS holder.
He warns that scammers already impersonate him online and expects shady practitioners to flood into coins and bullion, noting his symposium vets every exhibitor and requires a clean customer-complaint record.

Top takeaway Simmons argues platinum is a better trade than gold right now: the exchange ratio has flipped to about 2.4 ounces of platinum per ounce of gold, platinum is roughly 80 times rarer, and he says he bought platinum earlier in the week of the interview.
He holds that the rare coin market is one of the most undervalued collectible areas, up maybe 15-25% in the year to the interview with most of that in the prior 5-6 months, while gold and platinum have doubled, and he says 15-20 billionaires are now competing for only the 10-30 best coins.
He expects gold and the metals to keep running given the roughly $39 trillion debt figures he references, though he says he has no idea where bullion prices go next and merely relays an ANZ projection of $300 silver without endorsing it.
Among products he favors $20 gold pieces for their low premiums, platinum coins, main-brand silver such as Maple Leaves, Silver Eagles and 100-ounce bars, and 90% silver bags trading about $4 under spot; he avoids rounds, no-name bars and 10-ounce platinum bars because resale triggers 1099 reporting.
He urges buyers to hang up on cold-callers using pressure scripts, describing boiler-room dealers whose salespeople call prospects repeatedly once they get their number.