Thank you manosgerms for the long and detailed reply! Apologies if it took me a while to reply!
Really appreciate you taking the time to mentor a new guy like me!
I must say, it is a lot to actually digest :) Maybe a way to approach this whole argument is to force yourself to consider for every purchase the cost as including two aspects: the value of the coin and the "finder fees". The latter might vary including the reputability of the seller and the "you can have it TODAY" factor.
I still struggle to separate the two of them as I keep seeing the overall cost as whats comes out at the end of the day. Especially when TPGC comes into the picture as they are supposed to level the playing field (a certain grade is a certain grade no matter where you buy it).
I do realize however it is so much more faceted in real life. Some coins would be better looking than others even at a certain grade and the game here is to be able to discern them. Obvisouly not taking into account fakes or misrepresentations.
I probably need to take a cold shower and wait a bit to buy some of the coins I am looking for! When I start to look at options that are available right now I get a bit confused. When it comes to Japanese coins the confusion is even more pronounced since the yen right now is very low. Plus this all gets a bit more complicated when you go outside of the "everyone wants one" coins and get into some coins which are less popular and thus have less recorded sales and slabs around.
Have a great sunday everyone and thanks again manosgerms!
Really appreciate you taking the time to mentor a new guy like me!
I must say, it is a lot to actually digest :) Maybe a way to approach this whole argument is to force yourself to consider for every purchase the cost as including two aspects: the value of the coin and the "finder fees". The latter might vary including the reputability of the seller and the "you can have it TODAY" factor.
I still struggle to separate the two of them as I keep seeing the overall cost as whats comes out at the end of the day. Especially when TPGC comes into the picture as they are supposed to level the playing field (a certain grade is a certain grade no matter where you buy it).
I do realize however it is so much more faceted in real life. Some coins would be better looking than others even at a certain grade and the game here is to be able to discern them. Obvisouly not taking into account fakes or misrepresentations.
I probably need to take a cold shower and wait a bit to buy some of the coins I am looking for! When I start to look at options that are available right now I get a bit confused. When it comes to Japanese coins the confusion is even more pronounced since the yen right now is very low. Plus this all gets a bit more complicated when you go outside of the "everyone wants one" coins and get into some coins which are less popular and thus have less recorded sales and slabs around.
Have a great sunday everyone and thanks again manosgerms!


















