[niggler]

Ultimately the only question that matters is how much money was made. Dwelling on fantasies is immaterial (until you can sell or find a way to lock in the price, the market price has no bearing on your actual value).

In your example, you can say whatever you want about how it was worth more than you actually netted, but at the end of the day all that matters is the fact that you realized 16K

[rm999]

Looking at the maximum value normalizes for someone's risk profile and financial luck/common sense. I agree with you that for your personal finances all that matters is how much money you got or can get, but normalizing for these factors is useful in a poll.