Ok, here the deal on AOCS vs Bernie.

Believe it or not, I get the rounds for less and get faster shipping through Bernie. It's incredible, don't know how he does it. The guy must have major connections or he's ordering a LOT at a time.
Example, I ordered 20 Lakotas from Bernie and 20 Free State Project from AOCS within minutes of each other. Enough time to switch websites and place the order. I got Bernie's Lakotas this week and I'm still waiting on AOCS' Free State rounds to even ship. I spent $29.99 on the Lakotas and over $40 on the Free States, including shipping on both.
I don't sell that many to buy thousands, but have a few very loyal customers who buy a few at a time when I get them in. Just sent an order of 20 to Canada yesterday, 5 each of 4 designs. They're dedicated, if nothing else, and I'm just a hobbyist who likes to make a bit back on purchasing my collection. Takes the bite out a bit.
Yeah, the minting on the TSPs is probably near 20,000 which really isn't that much, as minting goes. That certainly helps the value. I know everyone I've shown these TSP coins to has loved them. You guys did a bang up job for sure.
Sooner or later, the dies will wear out. Even a minor adjustment like a font change would make the 1st run stand out as being the 1st run. NORFED did that. They kept the same basic design, but modified it slightly as dies wore out or years passed. Coin guys look for even the smallest changes and buy each one as they're released to have full sets. Yeah, we're different.
Have a good one.