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 Replies: 18 / Views: 2,988 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
567 Posts |
There is a 1917 Type 1 that my LCS has that will cost me around $235. I recently started my SLQ set, and this coin is high AU with very attractive colors, the problem for me is that the most I've ever spent on a coin was $80, and so this will be a huge increase in price for me. From a logical standpoint I know that this is a coin that I will love and cherish, and that I will probably never upgrade it so it will probably save me money in the long term, but it's still hard to shell at 240 for a small piece of silver... Tell me your stories of your first "expensive" coin that you bought. Did you struggle like me? Or was it an easy no brainer?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1839 Posts |
I think it's always a bit daunting when you make a significant step up from the most you've spent on a coin. I'd agree with you that if you really like the look of the coin you probably will be very happy with it for some time. The 1917 Type 1 SLQ is one of the most beautiful US coins ever minted. When it has attractive coloring it can be quite spectacular. If spending $235 isn't going to put you in some kind of a bind I'd say go for it. If you do buy it please post pictures when you can. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
567 Posts |
I'm definitely going to buy it (unless my LCS happens to sell it very fast, which I don't expect will happen) but I'm just struggling with the concept of spending that much money. It's a very beautiful coin, and I will definitely post pictures when I get it. It's just that huge price jump, I'm a very frugal person, even when I go out to lunch I find cheap burrito trucks and the like, so this is a hard price jump.
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Pillar of the Community
798 Posts |
Ahh I remember that day, it was an 1870 Canada 50 cent in VF-20. I had been wanting it for quite a while and I was happy to get it. $250 was the price and it felt completely worth it like a little kid getting a really cool toy in a toy store, not only that but its kind of stress relieving. Don't care about the money and the value just care about the coin but don't over spend of coarse. Also keep in mind that for the quiet rich people on this site 2 or $300 is like a dollar to them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
567 Posts |
I understand that to some people $250 means nothing, but when I say "very expensive" I mean it in a relative sense, if a kid is doing chores around the house for a dollar apiece than a 20$ coin is ridculously expensive, whereas to me I could shell that out without a lot of thought. It's the relative jump in price that becomes difficult.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
There will always be 'key' coins that will cost more than most, or even any, of the others in a collection. For myself it turned up in a coin hoard in 2004 and came up for sale in an auction at the end of 2005. Before that only four examples were known to exist. Was it a lot of money? Sure. Certainly several times what I had ever spent on a coin before (or after). Did I wonder if I was being crazy? At the time, yes! But I remember my Dad regretting not buying some rare stamps years later and thought .. if I don't try, will I regret it? As for my coin, have any others become available for sale since then? No. Am I still happy with the coin? Yes. Consequently I consider that the money I spent was fair.  So I think here are some things you might want to ask yourself: Is the price asked fair for the coin in question? Will you be able to get a better one for the same or less later on? Will you still enjoy the coin in a few years time (by which point the money spent will be more-or-less forgotten)? And if the answers are 'yes' well, enjoy your purchase! . |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Make sure of the reputation of the seller.
Do your research into the real value if the piece you are considering, not just look at catalog values.
Verify the authenticity of the coin.
Keep all of the records relating to the purchase of the coin, under separate security, in a folder or similar. Much easier to verify the coin, if you wish to sell it later.
Each of the above comments can be considerably expanded upon and have been, in lots of other threads in the CCF.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
I try to make a coin budget, how much I can spend every month without feeling strapped or without feeling like my family is tightening their budget because of my hobby. Quote:
I'm a very frugal person, even when I go out to lunch I find cheap burrito trucks and the like, Many a month have I brown bagged it to feel less guilty about spending a lot on a coin. Like you, it is not that I can't afford it, it is the constant thought that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Saving money elsewhere, make it feel like it is all breaking even. My LCS also has layaway. Often times it makes it feel less daunting to buy a really expensive coin, if I pay for it in 3 or 4 installments instead of all at once or loading up the credit card. My first gold coin was the most daunting, one piece of gold or twenty other coins? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
I try to NOT let the price of a coin slow me down from getting it. But I can't totally ignore it. What helps is making as sure as I can that the coin is as described and the price fair. Therefore for expensive (for me) coins HAVE to be slabbed at least so that I know the coin is: -- authentic -- has not bee manipulated, and -- the grade is reasonably accurate. Add eye appeal to that and that's what I'm looking for. As for price, do your research. Heritage, Stacks, ebay and catalogues. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
I'm with denco7. I have a monthly budget. If I don't spend it, the amount rolls over to the next month. That helps me to realize that buying a $250 coin I want is really not that different from buying 5 $50 coins I want. A more expensive coin still gives me pause, but I go ahead since I figure it is within the budget and needed for my collection.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2815 Posts |
Quote:
Therefore for expensive (for me) coins HAVE to be slabbed at least so that I know the coin is:
-- authentic
-- has not bee manipulated, and
-- the grade is reasonably accurate.
Add eye appeal to that and that's what I'm looking for.
This is me. The most expensive coin I have purchased, believe it or not, is an Eisenhower dollar: 1971-S DDO FS-103. Because it was in PF65 condition it was "only" $300. It is the 2nd rarest variety of the series. The lower grade was the only way I could afford this coin. The same will hold true for the FS-801 IF I ever find one available.  Edited by Darth Morgan
01/26/2015 09:47 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
567 Posts |
All really interesting thoughts coming from all of you, thanks for sharing guys!
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Valued Member
United States
331 Posts |
It wasn't that hard for me to buy my first expensive coin. I just love the coins and the history. Now when my wife found out that was a whole different story. lol
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
When I spend a high dollar on coins I will make sure it is something I want and not something I am just settling on so I won't have any remorse about doing so. I have a budget on what I have to spend and that will vary each time I go to my LCS. Unless I have the money to buy an expensive coin I won't do it. That is what makes this hobby a little more fun for me. Not only does it give me motivation to save the money for the coin I want it also keeps me going back because for me it's about the coins I don't have. Sometimes when you have everything you feel like you have nothing.
But to answer your question on buying an expensive coin, it is a no brainer on what I want but it is always a struggle to get it.
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5174 Posts |
My first few (and incidentally almost all) really expensive coins (over $20, say) were bought on a figurative high after getting a $350 prize in a contest that I randomly decided to enter one day and never expected to do any well in. Sadly, back then, I was only aware of perhaps two coin selling places, both with prices well over regular market (as I eventually found out). It being March/April/May 2011, when the silver prices were on the highest point of the spike, didn't help me either.  ...Out of the top ten most expensive (by amount paid) coins in my collection today, almost all would be coins I bought in that brief period and significantly overpaid for. (I tried to figure out the list and came up with 9 out of 10 - actually 10 out of 10 if we rephrase it to "coins bought at these two places"; there are probably some I'm missing, however.) |
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Moderator
 United States
188560 Posts |
I have not made it there yet. Three of my five incomplete sets are down to the pricey key dates. The remaining two will be there this year. This will definitely affect my budget and buying schedule.
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Replies: 18 / Views: 2,988 |
Posted 01/26/2015 01:10 am
