DMPL 84 CC I Bought For $225...I'm Shocked By The Beauty!!

My "two" coin buying guidelines for non-investors (i.e. most collectors); these do not always apply to cherrypickers, VAM, EAC, etc. where buying a scarce variety of an ugly coin might be a good idea!

1. If you like it, and you can afford it, buy it. You won't regret overpaying a bit for a coin you love; you'll always regret paying anything for a coin you don't.

(Corollary, the "Noyes Rule": If you don't like it as soon as you see it, you won't like it any more if you look at it longer. In other words, don't try to justify the purchase of a coin you don't find appealing by looking for reasons to "like" the coin.)

2a. If you don't like it, and you're not a gambler, don't buy it, even if it looks like an amazing deal.
2b. If you don't like it, and you're a gambler, buy it if you think you can make a profit on it later; otherwise, don't buy it.

OP liked it, and bought it ahead of other choices; therefore, it's a good deal, and the price is reasonable. Could he have found a better coin, cheaper, later? Maybe. But there's no guarantee, and in the mean time someone might buy THIS one, leaving him with even worse choices than the one he bought.

My (opinionated) guidelines of investing in coins:

1. The greater the bullion value, the lesser the risk. In other words, risk correlates with numismatic premium + the inherent risk in bullion trading. This must be balanced by the fact that low-risk often means low-return.

2. Your opinion of the coin is less important than the market's opinion of the coin. It doesn't matter what you'd pay for it, it matters what other collectors would pay for it. Research is critically important.

3. Always buy the best coin in the best grade with the highest scarcity and the best pedigree that you can afford, even if you don't like the coin or care for the series. Investors set a budget of $5,000, go to the ANA show and buy a $5,000 coin with a growth upside. Wealth generates wealth by virtue of its capacity to be re-invested; you can sell the $5,000 coin later for $7,000 and then buy a $7,000 coin that you couldn't have previously afforded. Eventually, you'll be buying a $100,000 coin you couldn't afford after flipping one you bought for only $85,000. The amount of your budget and the wisdom of your purchases determines the speed at which this growth occurs.

4. If you're going to take a loss, take it as soon as possible, and get the money back into the market working towards a profit again. The longer your money sits on the sidelines, the longer it takes to re-develop its earning power. Don't sit on a loss expecting it to make a turnaround unless you're really sure it's gonna recoup; money tied up in an asset you won't sell at a loss is money that's not working for you towards a profit elsewhere. In the long run (and you need to be in it for the long run for coins) a strategy of taking a loss and reinvesting towards a profit will almost always outperform a strategy of sitting on depreciating assets waiting on them to get "hot" again at some unknown point in the future.

Just my Two Cent Piece. AB

Like most of life's lessons you learn the hard way, I made some bad decisions before finding CCF and even being here awhile still make the occasional mistake, such as having to learn the hard way about "buy the coin, not the slab." But I make a lot less mistakes now than I did before I joined CCF. Whether you're collecting, or buying for investment, or whatever, being a CCF member and participant you will make better decisions either way.

Much like Cartwheel I've got a couple of binders of 2x2's from 10-20-.. years ago full of both cheap and not-so-cheap bad decisions, even though I love some of the coins within and have held them forever. Most of them have memories associated with them and looking at some of the more egregious ones is always a good reminder to me that just like market investing, the more you know, the more you earn, and CCF is a vast treasure trove of knowledge.

Your best bet would be CCF sell/trade or other avenues that let you directly deal with buyers, once you get enough "forum rep" to have access.

For higher grade coins, consigment with a major auction house, but the fees can stack quickly.

ebay is a gamble but can pay off if you have a good listing and find the right bidders.

LCS - dealer is buying low and selling high. Only sell to your coin dealer if you can't sell somewhere else.

Coin show -- see LCS, only worse, because now that dealer's competing against the other 30 or 40 in the bourse and is not going to pay a premium for your coins when he can buy them at wholesale or greysheet ask from the guy 3 tables over. Exception is if you have fresh coins that have not been on the market and might give the dealer leverage in resale.

Avoid at all costs: craigslist.

IMO we still need better pics. It is no doubt a beautiful coin. I'll reserve judgement 'til we get them.
Although the advice offered is sound, the OP looks to be off to a great start.

Um, I'd just like to say I like the coin. It appears to have great eye appeal with significant cameo contrast plus strongly reflective fields. There are some really baggy GSA Morgans languishing in dealer's cases and this is not one of those. You got an excellent deal IMO.

Love to see better photos, but in the meantime, congratulations!