Jon returns from the Money Show, Gold $3 in hand!

This is my first journal entry, but we'll jump into the middle. After months of planning, researching, and saving up, I went in looking for a $3 towards my twelve coin basic gold type set, as it and the type 2 $1 were the only ones missing. I went in with a budget close to $3k, plus a trade-in coin in hand in case I found something just a little more than I could get.

The challenge before me was principally one of whether to get an AU better date or a low grade uncirculated. I could have gotten, should I find it and assuming it was priced fair market, an MS61 or with trade an MS62 coin from 1854, 1874, or 1878. Where gold $3s are concerned, there are no real common dates, but those three are the closest thing to generic that the Indian Princess series has to offer. By the time I went in the door, though, I had made up my mind: I was going to focus on better dates. Instead of coins that show up in the thousands in the census and PCGS' population reports, I could for probably a little bit less get something that numbered only in a few hundreds.

I also kept in mind eye appeal and the prospect that I might find something else that blew me away. Indeed, I nearly came home instead with a rather circulated but nice 1889cc Morgan.

But, I found a great deal on an AU55 1856 $3, and I even had enough left over to get the type 2 gold $1. As of today, my twelve coin type set is finished. And, I kept my trade coin, which I'm putting back in the registry.