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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 4986944, member: 39084&quot;]Again, there are some misconceptions in your post that I&#039;d like to clarify.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>You write &quot;So if you trust the auctioneers...&quot; implying that I don&#039;t trust the auctioneers if I use the services of an advisor.&nbsp; This implication is incorrect.&nbsp; As I wrote previously, I pay the advisor to provide expertise that I don&#039;t have, or may not have.&nbsp; The auctioneer and/or the auctioneer&#039;s staff may or may not have the level of expertise I need to purchase a coin for my collection.&nbsp; It would be irresponsible of me to rely solely on the auctioneer&#039;s catalog description and picture to make a decision on that coin, especially in the price range of coins that I collect.&nbsp; An expert dealer/advisor that I know and trust provides a level of due diligence that enables me to purchase a coin with a high level of confidence -- anything less would be irresponsible.</p><p><br /></p><p>I don&#039;t use the word &quot;hidden&quot; because of its pejorative nature and implication that I believe something is purposely being kept from me.&nbsp; A more accurate way of phrasing this issue is that I&#039;m looking for the most complete information as possible on a coin on which I want to bid.</p><p><br /></p><p>You also write &quot;Well if your coins hammer 2-5 times less of their hammers 2-3 years ago then somewhere in the loop there&#039;s a bad estimation.&quot;&nbsp; This is not accurate, since there are so many factors that affect the future value of a speculative investment such as coins, stamps, art -- in fact <i>any</i> collectibles -- that it&#039;s generally not possible to definitively state that a coin was overpriced at its hammer price in any given auction.&nbsp; Of course we all have our individual opinions about whether or not a coin is overpriced, but since I&#039;m a collector of ancient coins and not an investor in their future value, a coin&#039;s future appreciation is usually irrelevant to me.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like AncientJoe, my dealer has recommended against more purchases than he&#039;s recommended for.&nbsp; It is unfortunate that you don&#039;t appear to have had the experience of working with honest and ethical dealers and advisors, but they do exist -- not everyone is motivated solely by maximizing their profit and are out to cheat you in order to do that.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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