I just started a "What Did I Miss Out On" List
airplanenut
Posts: 22,179 ✭✭✭✭✭
Want lists are great. I've got one with a whole bunch of items, some very specific and some very broad, that I'm looking for. One thing on the list is something I'm collecting by variety, but there's no real catalog of what varieties exist. A few months ago I came across a variety I don't have, but it was an example that didn't thrill me. I decided to pass. More recently, I was outbid in an auction on a different piece I would have liked, and through some searching, have found some auction records for other examples I would have purchased (or at least bid on) had I been collecting these when they were sold.
Today, I went back and found all the items I know exist but I don't yet have, and copied photos, screenshots of auction records, and notes about why I didn't get the particular item, and threw them all into a PowerPoint (easier than saving lots and lots of individual images). Now I have not just a want list, but a compendium of items I know are out there but I don't yet have (however rare they may be is an aside). Over time, as more items come and go, perhaps this will give me a way to see just how difficult a variety is to find, or if another comes along, I have sale information at my fingertips when these are often poorly catalogued, so finding price histories would be difficult at best.
And now, back to hunting...
Well, not really. I already know everything currently on the market. I think...
Comments
I like the idea of using PowerPoint and agree it is much more efficient than going through innumerable individual images. I just purchased a piece that might be what I am looking for, but then again the images made me think it isn't. However, like you, I keep track of when these things pop up and the last reasonable example sold over 6-years ago and I passed on it because it wasn't perfect.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
PowerPoint is a great resource. As @airplanenut has described, it is a fantastic tool for collectors. I used it years ago in business (not coin related). I would recommend it for collectors... and especially new collectors. Being new, setting it up would be easy and then grow with your collection. Cheers, RickO