The financial future of thousands of investors is now in jeopardy after the collapse of a Western Australian rare currency investment broker.

Investors from across the nation and even from overseas are anxiously waiting to see what will happen in the fall out of the Albany-based Rare Coin Company collapse.

That business, which allowed people to trade and invest in the rare money market, claimed it was a 'safe and reliable investment', offering average annual returns of up to 16 per cent.

One Albany-based investor, who asked to remain anonymous, says "this was our super money, so we don't have to eat cat food when we're older."

And he's far from alone.

The company was placed into liquidation this week, sparking fears for the estimated $200 million worth of stock investors held with the company, in addition to around $10 million of liabilities.

The collapse has left people from wealthy businessmen to financially-struggling retirees facing an extremely nervous wait, as Perth-based insolvency firm Sheridans Chartered Accountants pores over the company's books.

Rumours flew

Rumours of the company's demise had been circling Albany, but the official confirmation of the appointment of liquidators left the community stunned.

"I was shocked when I heard on the radio that it went into receivership, because that's my superannuation that's gone down the tube," said Rosalind Sawyer, an Albany-based investor.

Ms Sawyer's story is eerily similar to that reported by countless others - after being drawn into the investment many years earlier, she'd enjoyed watching her portfolio apparently appreciate in value.

Each year, the company sent her a statement of what it claimed was the value of her investments and each year she saw healthy returns.

But signs of trouble first appeared 18 months ago, when the Sawyers attempted to cash in.

Having previously been told that when they wanted to sell it would be virtually immediate, what came next was vastly different.

"They kept telling me that things were very quiet and they were doing their best, but a lot of people were trying to sell and that was one of their problems ... quite obviously they were having a hard time," Ms Sawyer said.

"People were being put in order of when they decided they wanted to sell. The first people sold theirs first and then it went down the line."

The previous anonymous investor reports a similar story - his accountant told him to get out more than a year ago and he'd tried, but with no luck.

He says the collapse, which has jeopardised his investments of more than $100,000, has been shattering.

"My partner and I had already lost our life savings through divorce settlements, this was money we needed to set us up again," he said.

But there were people who are in even more precarious situations.

"When we left Western Australia to travel around, we sold our home and invested in The Rare Coin Company," says Carol, who called the ABC after the company's collapse.

"It would have been enough to set us up, put it that way.

"I feel like the bottom has dropped out of my world."

Many were drawn in by widespread endorsements of the scheme, with parts of the Albany community raving about it and encouraging friends to join.

The company also targeted investors, particularly in farming areas, with regular sales pitches telling them of the glorious future they could enjoy if they put whatever spare money they had into the company.

Hard sell

Liquidator Jennifer Low says people like Carol and Ms Sawyer, who paid a fee each year to keep their stock at the company, will get it back.

Ms Low says, while those items are now in the hands of liquidators and secure, it will take a few months to distribute them to the rightful owners.

The biggest issue for those people will be finding markets to sell their coins and notes and attracting anywhere near the value The Rare Coin Company had claimed they were worth.

Some are warning that will be extremely difficult.

"The market for collectibles is very much in the eye of the beholder and if it comes to a distressed sale, which is probably what we're heading towards, it will be at a very hefty discount," says business commentator Tim Treadgold.

"Investments in this sector worth a certain price might be completely different to what the market is willing to pay."

Mr Treadgold warns it could have major consequences for the wider value of such items, but the organisation representing rare currency dealers disagrees.

"The Rare Coin Company was a large dealer in the market, but the market turns over between $400-500 million per year," said Andrew Crellin, president of the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association.

"Although it's a significant event, no company or dealer is bigger than the entire market. We have confidence in the market and that this will be digested in the fullness of time."

One feared consequence of the collapse is another hit to the already sluggish Albany economy.

While much of WA has surged with the mining boom and strong migration from the eastern states, Albany has been left behind with minimal growth, affected by the battling tourism and agricultural sectors.

Russ Clark from the Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry says it is impossible to know how big the effects will be, but with millions of dollars and thousands of people involved, there's bound to be ramifications.

"If people have money tied up in investments that they can't quickly liquidate, depending on the outcomes of what the liquidator does, may have a short-term effect on spending and people being more careful with their money," he said.

"Certainly it's not an encouraging thing for a stagnant economy."

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission declined to comment on the situation, but the body's Robert Drake urged people to be wary of high-risk, high-reward investments.

"If you're not entirely sure of something in an investing market then stay away from it," he said.

"There's lots of other places where you can put your money where you can have more idea of what's going on and the risk of disaster is much lower."

In the mean time, all investors can do is wait anxiously for news from the liquidators, who warn it will be a lengthy process.

"In terms of returning third party property to the rightful owners, I expect that will take a few months. In terms of realising the company's assets, being primarily coins and notes, I expect that could possibly take a few years," Ms Low said.

"The selling of the company's stock - the coins and notes - they're unique and it's not something that will be sold wholesale.

"It will take a long time to find buyers for all that stock."