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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Cloudsweeper99, post: 85020, member: 3011&quot;]Speedy,</p><p><br /></p><p>I agree with your assessment of how dealers think.&nbsp; However, in round numbers, I went to them with the idea of buying two $500 coins.&nbsp; They insisted in selling one $1,000 coin.&nbsp; So neither deal got done and I gave up on the idea.&nbsp; You are correct that I am more of an investor than collector, although I still fill Whitman folders with inexpensive coins with no investment value, just for the fun of it.&nbsp; For me, the comparison was between buying a one ounce gold bullion coin and a 100+ year old circulated $20 liberty.&nbsp; My brainstorm, for better or worse, was that if the price differential was small, the Liberty should be given preference because of its potential numismatic value in addition to the gold value.&nbsp; I quickly learned that coin collectors think differently.</p><p><br /></p><p>I tend to reject what passes for &quot;common wisdom&quot; in the coin world, that investors should automatically purchase high grade slabbed coins.&nbsp; To me, this view is similar to the viewpoint back at the beginning of 2000 that [for example] Cisco was a better investment than Exxon because Cisco had appreciated at a much faster rate in the past.&nbsp; Now collectors are saying that high grade coins and key date coins are better selections because they have appreciated at a much faster rate in the past.&nbsp; What people tend to forget is that they were better financial purchases precisely because the premium over more common coins was much smaller in the past than at the present time.&nbsp; The only way they can continue to be better is if the premium continues to expand at an accelerating rate, forever.&nbsp; If both appreciate at the same percentage rate, the higher grade coin may be less desirable to an investor because it is more speculative.&nbsp; But for me, investing is a hunt for value, and to me two VF graded Liberties are more valuable than one MS graded Liberty [assuming the prices are the same for both combinations and reflect current fair prices].&nbsp; As a bonus, I get to collect more old coins!</p><p><br /></p><p>Another mental block I have is that when I look at an old AU graded coin next to an MS graded coin, I tend to like them both equally from the standpoint of owning them as a collectible.&nbsp; I don&#039;t want extremely worn or damaged coins, but past a certain quality level, I&#039;d rather own more coins than better coins as long as the coins have a nice appearance.</p><p><br /></p><p>To anyone reading this, don&#039;t take anything I say as having any particular value for collectors or investors.&nbsp; It&#039;s just my personal opinion and preference and could as easily be 100% wrong as right.&nbsp; Maybe even more likely wrong than right.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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