Sorry, but your premise is flawed. Paying higher prices does not always drive the market up, and even when it does, it is normally only for the very short term. The coin market flows in cycles, and many factors and trends affect whether the price rises or falls. One need only to look at past price trends to see this clearly. Some examples are Classic Commemoratives, Franklin halves, and Ike dollars, just to name a few. These coins have lost value, in some cases by half or more, compared to what they were selling for just a few years ago. If you go back further, say to around 2007, you will see that each of these types were selling even higher then than they were at their most recent peak. And how many mint issues have jumped up in price immediately, only to fall back down almost as fast? The point is that paying more for them in the past did not "drive up the market" or cause them to maintain their high prices. All it did was make sure that the people who paid those high prices back then lost money if they sold them at any time since then. I imagine that you will have the same result with your purchases. It is your money to waste, if that is how you want to play the game, but you should realize that your selfishness and greed speak volumes about your character.