The "Bee" Reimaged

I stick to my budget, but can get get kinda squishy.

 

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... mmmm, squishy budget ...



... but honestly, I've been far better this year than during the past three previous years (I guess I've finally realized that I get the same "rush" from hunting-and-bagging a sweet "inexpensive coin" as I do when I blow the budget on a more expensive coin)

=> priceless!!

 

When I first started collecting ancients, I bought coins for their aesthetic appeal, and the emotional satisfaction of owning something so old. As another member on this forum said, we have an existential yearning for the past that's difficult to explain to non-collectors.

But as I acquired a number of texts and began to study the coins more, their inner life was gradually revealed to me. I found that the more you probe a coin, the more it has to say about its cultural and economic context, and the more it has to say, the more interesting it becomes.

I feel exactly the same way about inexpensive coins now, as long as they offer some sort of erudite factoid to my numismatic knowledge, i.e., an unusual mint or field mark, or engraving variation, or rarity. I value my $10 coins every bit as much as my $100 coins, sometimes more.