Do You Ever Overpay To Complete A Collection?

More than likely you paid less for some of your collection, paying a little extra for a coin balances the checkbook...sorta, kinda, in a way.

There are times that the shortage of coins and the desire to finish a set may force OP. Case in point, the 96S Barber dime--demand is so high on ebay for the ones that do come up , even in beater condition, I bought from a dealer. If I had been willing to wait, I probably could have eventually paid less, but couldn't deal with the sniping, and other "challenges." I have sworn off sets after the Barber dimes!! Its a tough one with many < 1 mil. mintages.

I probably would just so I could stop obsessing about that last coin or two. But I'd also ask what is the rush to finish? You can start another collecting project while waiting for that last coin to pop up at what you consider a fair price. It's not like you get a prize or anything for finishing it sooner.

Overpaying is not a bad idea if you are one to three coins short of a set that are not ultra rare expensive keys. (Example in Lincolns 1909-S-VDB and 1914-D can be tough to find especially the latter but they are out there at any large show as with a 1916-D Mercury dime under grade F-12.) That would assume that your cost in the near complete set is well below wholesale bid. In this case it simply saves you time because you have to look for these one to three coins at your next show. The only problem I have here is that I would not do this on the Sac Dollars as a collector. Just too hot of a series. I think eventually the 2012 proof coins will prove to be like the ones from 1986, 1995, 1999, and 2008. The price will come down and you will get a better entry point.