Do You Pay Full Retail For Coins?

So coins that are truly rare will command top prices but then again the amount of people who are willing to fork over that type of serious money is also rare. Since these coins don't trade on a daily basis and maybe only available at auction on occasion, they will maintain their retail/trend values.

We all "bite the bullet" when if we are building a set of coins. That elusive coin that we don't have that we find hard to find is the one that we will "consider" spending close to retail so we can complete the set. With me that will be a 1948 $1. I am sure that when it's time for me to buy, the coin that I settle for will be very close to trends for that condition.

I wouldn't even say that. There are seriously nice, scarce and semi-affordable coins going for below book value these days. The ones that do exceptionally well seem to be the ones that a few people secretly have on their list, and are all waiting for. Unfortunately, no catalog or even population report can predict what these will be, bidding just gets out of hand and you suddenly realize what has happened. I also think there's been a massive shakeout in the last couple years that has made some of these keys easier to come by, and as a result people have become more patient.