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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 1881134, member: 39084&quot;]First, let me congratulate TIF on the acquisition of a coin that appears to be among the best of its type, regardless of the minor imperfections noted earlier.&nbsp; It has always been my theory that a collector NEVER regrets spending (or even overspending, although I don&#039;t think that happened on this coin) on a coin that &quot;speaks&quot; to them, no matter how much it ended up costing him/her.&nbsp; I think you&#039;ll find this to be the case for your purchase of this coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>With respect to Doug&#039;s observation and question above: I have never bid directly at an auction, either in-person or online.&nbsp; My dealer always does the bidding for me.&nbsp; I prefer this arrangement for a number of reasons: (1) My dealer attends most auctions in person and can view the coin directly in case the pictures don&#039;t fully illustrate the coin&#039;s weaknesses or strengths; (2) he has the flexibility to adjust my maximum bid a little higher if he thinks one final bid will get the coin, based on his reading of others&#039; interest in the auction room during the bidding process; (3) many times I&#039;m bidding on multiple coins in an auction, and if I fail to get earlier ones, he can adjust the bidding strategy appropriately on later coins; (4) there are no chances of technical glitches when you have an agent there in person; (5) I highly value his input and could not have started my collection of Roman bronzes without his 30 years of knowledge guiding me around tooled and &quot;worked&quot; coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>What does this cost me?&nbsp; In general, his commission depends on whether or not the auction house &quot;cooperates&quot; with dealers and agents (they usually do, but not always), which I take to mean that he receives some of the fees collected by the auction house on the sale of a coin.&nbsp; But even in this event, I pay him an additional fee of at least 2% of the hammer price of the coin.&nbsp; His commission is usually 5%, which I consider a bargain relative to the quality of his advice and guidance.&nbsp; In addition, he is the most ethical individual I can imagine dealing with in a business where it would be easy to take advantage of an inexperienced collector.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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