Excellent question, if you read the BOB SIMPSON thread over at CAC Forums you'd see who us peons are up against. Not that they aren't fine people -- like our own EC (who also posts over at CF) -- they just play in another stratosphere.
Investors vs. Collectors....for high-end pieces, sure. When you are dealing with super-wealthy people and billionaires who are -- or could be -- completely price-insensitive, there is nothing you can do about it. Coins that cost 4 and 5-figures 30-40 years ago today cost high-6 figures and even 7-figures....with the high-end going for 8-figures pretty soon (to join the 1933 DE).
And the demand for some of the super-rare coins or patterns can be higher than that for the 1933 DE (though the prices haven't eclipsed it yet).
If Simpson had decided he wanted the 1933 DE, imagine what it would have cost him -- or EC.
At least we can still play in our little sandbox of bullion to low-60's MCMVII HR's or about $2,000 to $20,000 or so.
I'll do what I did with that freezing pool my mom used to send me for lousy swimming lessons....I'll stick to the very shallow portion of the pool/coin prices, thank you very much.