Price Threshold Of Pain

$500, and if the wind is blowing just right on the day of the purchase, you can likely hear me bellowing for miles...

("do you hear a lady sobbing?"

"no, that's pink, he just bought another expensive Lincoln Wheat cent."

"ehhh, how is it possible to hear him in wichita? isn't he in key west?"

"it was a '14-D XF."

"ahhh....")

truly.

i almost voted $100, but I drop $100 purchases pretty frequently, sometimes without thinking.

I've made several $500+ purchases over time, but considering what they were I'm satisfied with them. they don't come around often, so I pounced. one thing I've had to learn regarding numismatic acquisitions greater than $500: have no regrets. if I think I'm going to regret having made that acquisition, I refrain from making it. the pain threshold is a well-defined line for me.

(interestingly, I'm pretty sure there were numerous high-dollar acquisitions I never made & regretted over the years, but you know what? I can't recall them now! lol..)

Buying mint state graded coins from the later 1930s into the early 1940s requires a higher threshold. I chase $500. I went significantly over that buying the 1938-D Half Dollar, but all other mostly MS-66 coins were below the $500 threshold.

I would be happy to pay $10,000 for a Ptolemaic octadrachm, but that would be about my limit.
At that limit, I would still be confident that my kids would happy to sell it to their profit after I die.

Well, I had to go with $5000, but only because I recently purchased the final "key date" coin on my bucket list and it was the most expensive coin I've ever purchased at $4475.00. Usually, I go to a big coin show once a year and spend close to that amount spread out among a wide variety of coins and notes, but since the coin show got cancelled this year due to Covid-19, I decided to spend my entire yearly budget on a coin I found on ebay:



[I had budgeted $2000-3000 just for this coin alone previously, but when I saw this example I couldn't resist spending more to get it.]

I wouldn't say my collecting days are over, but I've managed to finish all the goals I set out to finish. Except, of course, for continuing the never-ending quest to upgrade my 7070 album with better coins...

Barry,

I love your collection , believe me I drool, but this is me, I would never pay that much. It's nice but it's not what I would get. I'm happy for you and happy you got the coin you wanted! But there are so many more coins I would get for $4500.

3 people here have voted that they would spend $100000 on a coin...then there's me who doesn't even have close to that amount in my entire life savings

Would be interesting to hear from these people about what coin they'd purchase for that (assuming they were actual votes and not people having a laugh).

@january1may - I said I don't have close to that amount, implying my life savings are nowhere near $100000