When you're close to completing a set.......

Jdurg

How can you prevent yourself from making the 'dumb' decisions and paying too much money for a coin? I am nearly done with my Roosevelt Dimes and just need the 1950-1952 proof coins to have it complete. This is the closest I have ever been to finishing a set and don't have any experience in this area yet. What have you guys done when you've gotten this close to the end to prevent making a big mistake. (Like spending too much money on a coin only to regret it later, or rushing out and buying it all at once only to put yourself in financial peril. lol). Perhaps a better way to think about it is that 'I'm almost done with the initial enrollment, but I can always begin the upgrade process.'

solid

Forget the monetary part - just be sure you only buy coins that make
you think "Wow!". This will go a long ways toward making sure you're
happy down the road!

Ken

(Forget what I said about forgetting the monetary part. Just use your
best judgement there. I stand by the second part of the above statement).

Robgetty

Let's be realistic. There is a good chance at the end of a set that the coins you
are missing are the pricey ones or the very rare ones. If you have been collecting
the set for 5 years and you have only seen 2 examples of a coin you need come
up for auction, then you might feel the need to pay "crazy money" to grab the next
one that comes along. If they are avaliable but just expensive, then you can be
more selective. When I was looking for my 1872 proof dollar, I jumped at the chance
to grab a PR58 with nice eye appeal to save some significant money. On the other
hand, the most expensive coin in my set was the last coin I needed, the 1872-CC
dollar. I passed up on several opportunities to buy a very low grade and waited
until I got the chance for a VF30, since I was not going to be happy to pay $1,000 for
a horrible coin when $3,000 got me a nicer example.

Hedger

When I'm close to completing a set I leave it unfinished. I like the idea of an incomplete set. For example, in my Lincoln cent collection I only have a few semi keys like the 14 S, 11 S, 09 VDB, 12 D, 22D ect. just to keep things interesting. I'm afraid if I did complete it the fun would be over. A few nice sets with nice extra fine semi key examples makes me feel quite content.

Jaywalker

Patience, grasshopper.

What Solid said... does the coin make you say "wow"? Does it make your heart beat a little faster? Would you buy it even if you didn't need it to finish a set? If you have to talk yourself into buying it... don't.

Now if I could just follow my own advice.

carl

To throw in my two cents, that's a pun, I am with Hedger in who cares if there is an empty spot in a collection. I have a worse problem though. When I see the empty spot may not be filled for a while, I start a new set putting my duplicate pile in a new book. I use those Witman Blue Classic binders. They are rotten because they have slots for error and proofs but I will try to fill them someday. I've just started my 11th Liincoln set, 7 Mercury dimes, 7 Roosevelt dimes, 4 Buffalo nickels, 2 Standing Walker halves, etc. Lke I said when the tuff ones become noticable, just start another set. I have NO sets complete yet after 50 or so years and I just dont' care. Actually all I need in Lincoln set No. 1 is the famous 55 double die.

bgrice

I agree with the *wow* theory. I don't know how many coins I've sold off and replaced because I jumped the gun on what I thought was a bargain. I kind of like the idea of having a couple of sets working, so I might endeavor into it.

Jdurg

Thanks for the good advice from everyone. As has been mentioned, the three coins I need are going to be semi-tough to get since they all have mintages less than 100,000. (The 1950, 1951, and 1952 Proof Dimes). As my set stands right now, I really don't have any coins in there that make me go 'yuck, I need to get these replaced'. I've got a 1953-S that is in amazing shape and I would love to have all my other coins look like that, but the price that would entail wouldn't make it worth it. I think I'll take the advice of only buying something if I see it and go 'wow, I need to have that'. With just these three coins, I may get lucky and find one for a decent price. In the meantime, I could just save up for some of my more expensive 1880 coins that I want, or maybe start a type set. Damn you guys. You give me too many good ideas.

ARCO

With time you will come across the coins you need and at a price you will feel happy about. Patience is the name of the game and it almost always rewards in this hobby.

Tyler