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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;V. Kurt Bellman, post: 1985432, member: 71723&quot;]Just a reference point. My main retail price guide I use now is Numismedia&#039;s FMV, then apply the discount off of that I&#039;ll pay. For more common stuff, that discount is stout, for key dates, less. I wrote a script for my HP calculator where the inputs are retail list, discount wanted, and buyer&#039;s premium, if any, and it spits out my maximum hammer price bid. I NEVER EVER go over that price. Not for ANY coin. I don&#039;t care if Q. David and CAC&#039;s owner signed it personally in longhand and stuck gold stars on it.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is utterly amazing how many raw early cameo proofs I&#039;ve won with this method at local auctions. At coin shows, all I hear is prices 2x-3x what I typically can get great fresh new-to-the-circuit material for. If there&#039;s that kind of air in their initial asking price, that&#039;s too much work - my time is more valuable than to play haggling games all day.</p><p><br /></p><p>I send a fair bit in for slabbing, and I usually get higher grades than I thought. In my entire time in this hobby (51 yrs.) I have only ever gotten ONE coin back as ungradable - an allegedly cleaned old Mexican peso, back in the old small slab ANACS era. I still disagree with that assessment, BTW.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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