Lesser grade and lesser cost, however all of the enjoyment.
I don't know if others do this but I would guess that many of my fellow collectors do. As a classic coin collector I sometimes run through the slots of a budding set and try and figure out the maximum grade or cost I'll be able to afford for the slots.
As an example--in my Walker short set I surmised early on that an MS66 1941-S would be the max grade I could obtain. A PQ 41-S goes for $1500 to $1700 however an MS67 may sell for $25,000+. ( and people wonder why re-submitting and crackouts are enticing?)
So, having a general idea of the maximum grade I can afford to fill each slot with I generally refine my searches to coins in that grade.
There are exceptions however, and I'm not talking about breaking my "spending ceiling" and shelling out $20K on a coin. No, the exception is when a coin of great eye appeal grabs my attention and the desired/targeted grade on the slab loses its importance.
This has happened several times to me with the Mercury dime set. A gorgeous MS67 with unique tone or satiny glow captures my eye--even if it has less than FSB, and that becomes the slot filler. Often the 67FB example would have been within my range however I almost always tend toward the "unique" coin over it's pristine white counterpart.
The last 2 additions to the Walker set were both unconventional like this. I "upgraded" my 1942 from a blast white coin in MS67 with wonderful flowlines and frosty look for an attractive rim-toned example-also in MS67. The 1937 I bought for its dazzling striations of pink, peach and lavender was graded as an MS66- a slot that I had originally projected as an MS67 ( it would require a pretty spectacular coin to unseat my 1937's place in my set.)
Yesterday I added another. I have looked at many 1939-S Walkers in MS67 and nearly pulled the trigger on a few that were priced well. In the end I held off because my goal is not just to fill the slot--but to find great coins to fill the slots. The MS66 Walker I found yesterday does just that. Not for everyone with it's amber to oaken rim tones and subtly hidden blues and veridians in the niches of the details--to me it immediately clicked. To make it even better, I got it at far less than an MS67 cost and even $120 less than my high bid.
Maybe a lesser grade but I'll be enjoying this one for a while.......happy hunting everyone.....the reverse of my new 1939-S MS66 in an older gen NGC fatty with inscribed logo...
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