worth the wait

I may have mentioned in previous entries that I struggle with patience. I am getting better though at recognizing when I get obsessive and/or impatient--and consequently I am becoming a better and more selective numismatist.

I recently started my Mercury dime short set and immediately found dozens of opportunities to fill the slots in my target grade range--MS67. After one quick impulse buy, a 99% FB 1945-S for only $65 ( I got reallly lucky on this one) I decided to do a bit more study before diving in full force.

I have found out some interesting info that will influence my buying and provide me with more insight into bargain hunting. First; most high quality MS67's can be bought for under $100-especially with some patience. Secondly; judging by the population #'s of Full Band examples in ratio with non-FB coins, the Philly mint are scarce in FB designation, the Denver mint %has a vast majority of FB vs non FB; and the San Fran mint is about 1 outta 4 FB's for most dates in the short set.

So I have decided to eat my words on some dates--mostly the D mint coins of this short set. I will probably fill these slots with FB coins. An extra $20/30 seems reasonable to me for a superiorly struck and detailed coin. Several of the S mints I'll pay extra for the FB also since the extra cost won't be too high..but for the P mint coins there won't be many-if any-that have FB in my set. I was stunned by how RARE ( and I don't use the word lightly) the 1945 FB is in any grade-especially the upper grades.

Well, to cut to the chase, I now have 2 Mercury's in my set out of 16..and I have passed on a few that had great prices for the FB and grade because they either lacked luster (flow lines) or had splotchy brown tones. This is not a race. I plan on being a coin collector for the rest of my life and hopefully that will be another 40 years of enjoying the hobby. It makes no sense to me to build debt in credit cards or neglect life's other pleasures because I spent all of my money on coins.--Plus, when I space out my purchases I find myself spending more time studying and appreciating each coin after they arrive...anyhow, I'm not usually this wordy but I wanted to write down the thought process I went through in preparing to start a new set...as always my numismatic brethren, happy hunting...

My first coin for my set--a 1945-S with shimmery luster and so close to FB..