Let's say you wanted a coin (or token, or paper money). Would you rather be looking for a coin that you could easily afford, but takes 5 years to find, or a coin that was readily available, but it took you 1 year to save up enough money to buy it?
No contest in my mind . . . I've taken much more satisfaction from owning coins I came across far less frequently.
It's always a lot of fun looking for something that is a tough get and somehow manages to fly under the radar somehow. The thrill of the hunt is always more fun.
If they're equally desired by you, I'd go for the one that takes 5 years to find. You never know when you'll come across another one like that. It would be a pleasure to own such a coin, and not have to wait another 5 years or more to come across another one. As for the easy to find one, you can always save up again, and get it whenever you want.
Waiting forever to find something gets old with me very quickly. Mentally I put such items in the back of my mind and let them "bug me" until they crop up. Then when they do appear, it's "a nice surprise." Paying high prices is not fun. There are some coins, like the half cents in the 1840s, which I have really come to dislike, becuase of their high price tags. I think a lot of other collectors agree with me. The half cents have not been at the top of many collectors lists because of the big holes in the date set which most of us can't fill.
I prefer the scarcer item that might be on everyone's bucket list. It's not a "nanner, nanner I got one and you don't" thing. It's something that would be more likely to sell later on when needed.
For the most part I'm more of an "instant gratification" person myself. But there is just some satisfaction I get finding something that I don't get if I just buy something (why I've started coin roll hunting last year lol).
I have coins that took me decades to find. I can do 5 years anytime. I am probably doing so right now. I maintain several search lists and some of those lists are far beyond 5 years old. James
I hear that. I have one coin that I’ve been looking for for over 8 or 9 years now. Been so long I’ve lost track. I’ve found a few but not like I want to complete my set and it’s the last coin I need.
I get instant gratification from sending reasonable offers to the idiots that put insane prices on "buy it now" and their price is something 10 times what it's worth. I end the offer with, "best I can do". There are a lot of absolute crooks online, I guess they find an acorn once in a while because no sane person would ever consider some of the ridiculous listings we've all seen.
