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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 1983845, member: 39084&quot;]A free-market capitalist will tell you that an item is worth whatever a willing buyer pays to a willing seller for that item.&nbsp; In the abstract, this is pretty much the only functional definition of &quot;worth.&quot;&nbsp; Unfortunately, this is not much help in determining how much you&#039;re willing to bid for a coin in a competitive auction.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of the 45 coins that comprise my current collection, 26 of them were acquired via auctions.&nbsp; When I was working out the maximum that I was willing to bid for any of these coins, I took all of the following into account:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. My dealer&#039;s assessment of the condition of the coin.</p><p>2. My dealer&#039;s assessment of the market desirability of the coin.</p><p>3. Buyer&#039;s premium and (if applicable) current foreign exchange rates.</p><p>4. How likely I was to find a comparable coin within the next few years in the event that I did not win this coin.</p><p>5. How much the coin &quot;spoke&quot; to me.</p><p>6. Comparable sales (if available) in the last few years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Unlike some of the other responses in this thread, my experience (at least for the coins in which I&#039;m interested) is that coin prices generally rise moderately-to-fairly-aggressively in following years, so unless there is a plentiful supply of comparable coins currently available, I will likely pay more for a similar coin if I acquire it at a later date.&nbsp; This tends to make me bid more aggressively in many cases.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ultimately, I would ask myself the question: If I&#039;m willing to bid X, and the coin ultimately sells for 110% of X, will I regret not setting my maximum bid to the higher amount?&nbsp; Once I find that threshold, I&#039;m fairly comfortable with the outcome of the auction, whatever that may be.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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