More Pickups Walkers, Franklins And Mercs

I sure did!

I guess I await the follow-up post.

I have no problem buying groups of lower priced coins.

I do have problem with buying coins that fall into the $250 to $500 range.

Someday I will have to make the leap., if I hope to get my 7070 at the
level Kenkat's is.

It might take selling some of my multiples.

Here is what is going on in my head sometimes.

Full set of State Quarters (P,D,S,S) or one nice classic coin.

I might have to start a poll with that question.

I have a hard time on the "expensive" coins as well. Anything above $100 gives me pause; anything above $250 or so becomes even harder.

This is where I am currently at with my Lincoln collection. It is hard to pull the trigger on what I need to complete it. It is a lot of the reason why the 09-SVDB is unfilled.

I had a similar issue as the 7070 neared completion.

The way I have dealt with it is that I budget $50 a month. If I don't buy a coin, the budget builds up month to month. I get occasional kickers to the budget for birthdays or Christmas if I get cash gifts. I can buy a $50 coin every month or save up and buy a $300 coin twice a year. I actually enjoy buying $50 coins more than $300 coins. But I have some specific goals to complete collections that sooner or later require some bigger purchases. At some point, there were no more $50 coins for the 7070. So I kinda grit my teeth and make the big purchase. And there are compromises. Not every coin can be perfect; some have to be "good enough".

There's no more $50 coins for the Lincoln collection either. I keep track of the budget on a running sheet of paper. Recently, I couldn't find anything so I built up over $400. That made it a little easier to fill some holes in the Lincoln album - I spent some money on a 17-S and a 15-D, then got a bargain on an 18-S that was borderline AU but still had a little mint red on it.

Just to keep interest going, I also buy the occasional small purchase. But I mainly try to focus on one main thing. So, I spent a good 3 years mostly buying for the 7070, with the Lincoln collection on the back burner. Now I am mainly focusing on the Lincoln collection. But really it is all about what coins you want to collect and especially what is FUN to collect. I still buy small stuff for fun from time to time as well. The budget keeps me honest though and makes me realize the trade offs involved in a lot of smaller purchases vs. a few bigger ones.