Postimees · Luxurious Estonia (Luksuslik Eesti) · 2026
Where does passion end and investment begin?
English translation of the original Estonian article. Original headline: Kus lõpeb kirg ja algab investeering?
See the original design in the magazineOwning gold pays no dividend into your account, a painting sends no quarterly report, and the value of a rare coin only becomes clear when someone else is willing to pay more for it. Yet both precious metals and art keep being bought, and some artists' price levels have even tripled in four years. So where should you put your money to get either a reasonable or at least an emotional return on the asset?
Two years ago the first 500 silver coins of the series "Road to Valhalla" were minted: two ounces of silver each, high relief, Vikings as the theme. Today the pieces released in 2024 are almost impossible to find. For numismatists and other lovers of history, the name of the series is of course a kind of joke, since according to myth Valhalla is one of the few places you cannot take money with you. The Vikings themselves were patient investors: their strategy was to bury silver in the ground. The real value of that investment, unfortunately, only revealed itself 1,000 years later. Such treasures have been found in Estonian soil too, and in many places they are called priceless.
Patience may be a virtue in the world of investing, but nobody today probably wants to wait 1,000 years. At Estonia's spring auctions, the average price of an artwork sold was around 5,500 euros – at the same time a suitable sum for buying a gold bar. Food for thought.
One quality unites coins, precious metals and art: unlike a share or a fund unit, you can hold these assets in your hand. That is exactly what makes them both an interesting and a complicated way to invest money. Below, gallerists, coin and gold dealers and a professor of finance explain what can affect these assets.
Gold or silver, bar or coin.
The rise in gold and silver prices at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 changed the market. According to Eivor Maiväli, CEO and board member of Tavast OÜ, a company specialising in precious metals trading, that is exactly when people came to them who had not really considered this form of investment before. In his view, the change in the geopolitical situation at the beginning of 2022 also played a part in the growing interest, when the possibility of taking one's assets along quickly if needed became important. According to the company, markets have now calmed down, but prices remain very high by historical comparison.
For a private individual's long-term investment, Tavast's representative generally considers gold the most practical: great value fits into a small form. Investment gold that meets the requirements is also VAT-exempt in Estonia and the European Union. Silver is a different story. The price of new silver coins and bars includes VAT, which a private individual no longer gets back when selling.
Silver is therefore suitable for someone who wants to start with a smaller sum or who is also interested in the coins themselves. Here you find a completely different world. According to a representative of Coin24, a shop largely focused on numismatics, the price is influenced above all by the quality of the minting and the mintage. The highest-quality so-called proof coins are especially prized among collectors, because attention is paid to both the finish and the certificate. Often, though, it is the mintage that shapes the value.
If you have 3,000 to 5,000 euros to start with, Coin24 recommends looking at well-known thematic silver coins. With heavier coins the price of silver per unit is lower, while small-mintage coins often carry added collector value.
The art market is currently moving in several directions.
As Siim Raie, head of the Artrovert gallery, explains, the global art market has recovered in overall figures, but not in all segments. "The upper end of the market, the very expensive works, is growing, and the lower end, works under 5,000 euros, is also active. To be honest, the market is moving in several directions," Raie says.
Worldwide, the supply of art currently exceeds demand, and in Raie's view that is good news for buyers, because it keeps prices in check. "In my opinion, it's always a good time to buy art, and for 5,000 to 10,000 euros you can get a very good work by a very serious artist," he assures.
According to Raie, the works of quite a few Estonian artists can no longer be had for the same price as four years ago. Those with active exhibition careers are discovered by museums, curators and collectors. Before each exhibition the price level takes a small step forward. For example, the first works by Gerda Hansen that Raie sold were her bachelor's degree paintings, and today the price level is three times higher.
The same pattern repeats with artists who, according to Olga Temnikova, head of the gallery Temnikova & Kasela, have reached the international market. Before international recognition, prices for works by Kris Lemsalu, Jaanus Samma and Edith Karlson were often between one and three thousand euros. Today comparable works may be between 10,000 and 20,000 euros, and higher for more significant pieces.
According to Temnikova, Estonian artists have been offered museum exhibitions and collaborations with galleries in Vienna, New York and Montréal, as well as a solo exhibition at Kiasma. "In our experience, the most natural price increase happens when international visibility, institutional recognition and real demand grow together," Temnikova explains. Raie adds that exactly this kind of step-by-step growth ensures a stable market.
When you need cash quickly.
With gold, getting money is quick. Once the authenticity of a bar or coin has been verified at Tavast's office, a purchase price based on the current market price is offered, and smaller sums are paid out in cash on the spot. In the online shop, both the selling and the buy-back price are displayed next to the products, so the difference can be assessed even before buying.
With art, the exit is slower and can turn out more expensive. Raie points out that when selling on the secondary market, you have to take into account the commission for the organiser, whether a gallery or an auction. According to him, this is a quarter to a third of the sale price and immediately changes price expectations.
"Although the historical return on art is high, around 9 per cent a year, according to statistics on publicly traded works most of it comes from a fraction of artists and mostly from the top end of the market, which in Estonia doesn't exist anyway," Raie concedes.
A portfolio should be divided consciously.
According to Tõnn Talpsepp, professor at TalTech and co-author of the Rahaedu investment books, a typical private investor does not need to hold gold or other precious metals in their portfolio. For diversification, a share of up to five per cent can be kept there, and the main purpose could be protection against high inflation. "In normal circumstances, gold does not provide the direct growth in assets that other financial assets offer," he points out.
Tavast's representative Maiväli says essentially the same: "With gold we would talk mainly about diversifying assets and preserving value in the long term. The price of gold fluctuates and it pays no interest or dividend, so it should not be treated as a source of guaranteed returns."
What is the alternative, then? According to Talpsepp, government bonds are once again offering a considerable interest rate after a long time – at the beginning of September, between about three and five per cent depending on the country. At the same time, share price levels are historically high, especially in America, which in his view suggests more modest returns than in recent years.
The most expensive mistake is not the wrong asset.
According to Talpsepp, what most affects a private investor's results is the choice of asset classes. It is important to keep costs under control, for example by favouring index funds, and to avoid costly mistakes such as excessive trading or taking on too much risk for oneself. "In the long run, what works on financial markets are still considered decisions based on logic, not emotions or intuition," he notes.
Raie says the same about art, only in different words: "The biggest mistake is buying for the wrong reasons: following a trend, buying a name because someone said it was a big name. Often people look for harmony with choices already made: the rug, the curtains and the sofa, or art they already own."
Talpsepp sums up trading in art in an even more sobering way: "With art, returns look better from a distance than they are in reality, because mainly popular works reach auction. Unsuccessful investments are kept quiet, because there may be no buyers for them at all."
Returns can be counted in more than one unit.
Raie says that for about half of his clients, the reason for buying art is a newly finished home or renovation, and they often look for harmony with choices already made. His advice is the opposite. "A work of art is a quantity in its own right and doesn't have to fit the palette of your home textiles. Art in a home never goes unnoticed, so it's better if it speaks about the owner themselves," the head of the Artrovert gallery concludes.
In the end, the professor of finance and the gallerist arrive at the same opinion. According to Talpsepp, art also has a certain consumption value, because looking at a painting simply makes some people happy, and then perhaps it doesn't matter how much someone else would be willing to pay for it at the moment. Raie puts it his own way: "One way or another, it's like choosing a life partner."
So if the choice is well made, the asset looks back at you from the wall every morning, and the return is counted in entirely different units. The Vikings' silver waited a thousand years for its buyer. A modern investor at least has the choice of whether to put their assets in a safe, on the wall or in the virtual world.