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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;jhinton, post: 1416573, member: 24410&quot;]I am a big advocate of buying the book before the coin. So I was very shocked when I realized how little I have spent on my reference library compared to collectables in the past year. Before I give the numbers I should clarify that my goal is to own my own shop one day (just as soon as I reach my real estate investing goals) and in that shop I want a section dedicated to the study of numismatics. My dream is to have a complete section or a separate room with a few tables and book shelves full of references so I, my staff and my customers can research till their hearts content. This will necessitate a larger than average library than the average collector. I started off early spending way more on books than on coins or currency but I have almost stopped in the last year. I attribute a lot of this to the fact that I am currently out of the country and have not had time to research most of what I have bought in the last year (mostly through Heritage or Stacks). Thus it has not been brought to my attention my lack of reference material.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think I have a good start so far as last count I had over 100 different works not including multiple editions (I like to have them all), hundreds of auction catalogs and hundreds of older magazines (pre 1990s) I don’t save the newer ones though I do cut out articles sometimes and save them in document protectors in different binders. I also do not count Redbooks of any sort (Though I do have a lot) as most are general reference at best and I prefer to have the main works when available. I also have many hard to find works on CD/DVD but my goal is to eventually get the actual book. I estimate that I have spent roughly $3,000 on my current library though I was fortunate enough to have been given some expensive books by my mentor and friend who owns a coin shop in Dothan, AL. I also lucked out and was able to purchase a few of Breens more expensive books from a library sale, literally saving me hundreds of dollars.</p><p><br /></p><p>Below is my current expenditures for the past 10 months.</p><p>Coins, Currency, Etc.: $20,870.57</p><p>Books : $251.64</p><p>Percentage spent on reference material: 1.20%</p><p><br /></p><p>Now granted, My goal is bigger than most and I have started buying more expensive coins but still I think I have a lot of catching up to do to reach my eventual goal with a realistic time frame of about 15 years.</p><p><br /></p><p>My question to you all is. How big is your library, what is your goal, and how much do you budget/ average a year on reference material?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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