By Felix Lowe - Telegraph Media Group Limited

In a year that is shaping up to be challenging economically, one Aim-listed company is hoping to strike gold in its choice of alternative investment. Avarae, Britain’s only publicly traded investment fund that invests in rare and high quality coins, this week snapped up a unique set of Japanese coins issued between 1870 and 1917.

Sir John Wheeler, chairman of the Advisory Panel to Avarae and a 40-year veteran of coin collecting, said: “The Japanese coin market has been very subdued in recent years, particularly so since the Japanese Ministry of Finance announced the sale of so many gold coins in a series of auctions.

“Historically, once a treasured collection has been disseminated, the coins usually start to recover in price. As a consequence of these sales together with other factors, Japanese coins have not enjoyed the same strength as has been seen with coins of the US and throughout Europe. Read The Full Story