What's your coin budget sweet spot per coin?

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I don't know how these polls work on here, so forgive me if it comes out wonky.

I'd consider myself a budget collector, and although I can go higher on occasions, my sweet spot for a regular order is either #4 or 5. There's many pleasant coins available within this budget.

There's no wrong answers and no shame attached to a small budget.  I myself was in that boat for some years, and compared to the big boys, I still am.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I voted 200-299, although it's probably around 150-200.

[CPK]

I voted $100 - $199. Most of the coins I might buy are in this price range. However the average coin in my collection is probably under, maybe around $50 or so.

[Prieure de Sion]

I answered privately - so the most buys I have are Gordianus Silver - and this coins I have a range round about 100 USD... sometimes cheaper - sometimes a little bit more. But no Gordianus Silver cost more than 200 USD... unless they come from Antioch and carry their heads to the left. Then it becomes expensive. Very expensive. But rare to find something like that.

I checked 100-150 USD.

[Kali]

On average, $50-$100. Second average is $100-$200, but it has to be something I really want.

Anything beyond the $300 threshold requires some hard thought.

[Spaniard]

Mine is the same as Kali above.....50-100 with the occasional coin up to 200.

[John Conduitt]

I think about 70% of mine are 50-200. Some are cheaper, usually from lots.

However, 90% of what I’m still after is more than that, as I bought the cheaper ones already. So once a month, roughly, I get a coin in the 400-1000 range. A very small number are higher than that. Although I still buy 50-200 coins as 1 a month is not easy 😂

[ambr0zie]

I voted 50-99. I am a generalist collector and most of my purchases were Imperial coins to cover most of the emperors and empresses, one per ruler. I have some favorite rulers where I bought more than one coin. I now find it difficult to get a coin under 50 euros - I mean one I really want. And I rarely pay more than 100 euros. I do not hunt major rarities or coins in exceptional condition.

I only paid more than 100 euros (total price including auction house's fee) for 4 coins.

112 euros (I really wanted this coin since the moment I saw it)

141 euros (Julia Titi is not exactly the most common portrait)

(115 euros - I could lie and say I admired the artistry on the coin and wanted a Lysimachos drachm, but the truth is I bid on it by mistake, opening bid 100 euros, and I ended up winning the coin)

 

114 euros (this was another coin I wanted in my collection)

[Prieure de Sion]

5 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:

114 euros (this was another coin I wanted in my collection)

Fantastic coins - but this prices you don’t realize this or last year - or? 🙂 

[ambr0zie]

Actually the C. Annius T. f. T. n. and L. Fabius L. f. Hispaniensis was bought exactly 1 month ago. I started collecting ancient coins in October 2020 so all my coins were bought with "today's prices". (If I understood the question correctly)

Edited October 22, 2022 by ambr0zie

[JayAg47]

I used to buy coins under 50 USD few times a month, but nowadays I have shifted to buying coins every once or twice a month with a budget of around 150 USD per coin, although this year I've only bought around 10 coins, compared to ~40 last year and nearly 100 in 2020. Saving up and making bigger purchases (at least big to me) has allowed myself to buy better quality coins, and also to strike off long time bucket list coins like the Solidus and Caesar denarius, which both are outliers in regards to my budget, but reducing the frequency of purchase helped me in acquiring them!

Hoard of denarii I used to buy for cheap ( most are between 20-30 usd, excluding couple of coins).

And most of the coins I bought this year, 

[expat]

As a new collector I am limiting myself to researching, learning and enjoying the wonderful examples posted here on the forum. I do not know, yet, what I want to concentrate on so am not buying for the sake of it. I chose 50-99 as it encompasses a lot of choice, although I have three late Roman bronzes, which I currently have none of, being delivered next week that cost a total of 25 Euros including shipping.

[Romismatist]

My typical spend has drifted higher on select coins as I've graduated to paying a bit more for better quality coins, and as the major gaps in my core collection close. I have a number of specialty collecting areas such as the Messapian coins of Calabria (modern-day Apulia) and the region of Ostfriesland in Germany (from 900 - 1800 AD), but I'm also plugging away at my emperor set, with a focus on historically interesting coins. That being said, I'm not immune to pulling the trigger on some quirky and opportunistic purchases - I recently purchased an 1805 medal of Napoleon Bonaparte commemorating some of his victories at what I thought was a pretty attractive price. I put myself in the $100-$199 range. With the recent crazy prices, I've tried to tone down my buying a bit and not get sucked into the current feeding frenzy. 

[Limes]

Im not a general collector, and I dont buy many coins in a year. This year, I had 10 additions to the collection, and maybe by the end of the year I can add one more. The coins vary a lot in value. This year Ive added an aureus, but also a small group of three Trajan denarii, which were about 80 eur. each. So, its hard to give a general price range.

[madhatter]

First ever post in Forum.

Most of my coins, are in range of 50-99, couple in 100-199.

I consider myself as a buget collector, still chasin the One per ruler goal (which, I know is imposible to fulfill with my current limits), but still wery happy when i manage to add a new treasure to the group. 45 emperors and empresess so far, not counting different denominations

[Roman Collector]

9 minutes ago, madhatter said:

First ever post in Forum.

Most of my coins, are in range of 50-99, couple in 100-199.

I consider myself as a buget collector, still chasin the One per ruler goal (which, I know is imposible to fulfill with my current limits), but still wery happy when i manage to add a new treasure to the group. 45 emperors and empresess so far, not counting different denominations

Welcome! I hope you'll post photos of various coins in your collection!

[sand]

My sweet spot has decreased this year, to approximately half of what it was last year. This year, for the first time, I've actually been keeping track, of how much I spend on coins, and coin books, per month, and it's eye opening. This year, I've been trying to spend less money per month. Also, I have almost all of the high dollar coins that I ever wanted, except for the unattainably expensive ones. Still, I find that, I spend too much, at the beginning of each month. And then, I have to struggle, to try not to buy coins, to try to keep the monthly total under my goal. Currently, my monthly goal, is less than half of what I spent, on my most expensive coin ever, which was a 1589 AD to 1591 AD Spanish colonial piece of eight, a coin which I've shown in other threads. I've only achieved that goal once, so far this year. However, at the beginning of this year, my monthly goal was twice what it is now. If I compare my monthly purchases, versus my goal at the beginning of the year, then I've achieved that goal 3 times this year. My monthly goal includes coins (including buyer premium, shipping, taxes, etc) and coin books. In a way, it adds to the fun, to try to stay within a budget, because I have to be selective, about which coins, and coin books, that I buy.

Edited October 23, 2022 by sand

[Romancollector]

I can't say that I have a general price threshold for all coins...instead, I have thresholds for certain categories of coins. This is necessary because I'm building a targeted collection on a somewhat limited budget. For example, there are four 1st-century denarii for which I have a threshold of $5,000 USD give or take. Currently, I have two out of four of these types. While I'm willing to spend a decent amount on specific and/or exceptional types from the 1st century, I'm not willing to spend a similar amount on 3rd-century antoninianii or 4th-century folles. I generally like to keep it under $300 for coins in these categories, although there are some exceptions. To put things simply, I establish thresholds based on what I determine to be the most significant or essential for the narrative of my collection. 

[kirispupis]

In general:

<$100 - I usually won't give much thought to the purchase.
$100 - $200 - It depends on how rare the coin is and how much I want the type. If it's rare, I'll grab it.
$200 - $300 - I'll have to want the coin pretty badly and it will need to fit an important slot.
$300 - $500 - These are coins that are of a high priority. At this point, it's a strategic purchase.
$500 - $1000 - These are extremely important coins - a P1. I've been after this for some time and it's a key for my collection.
$1000 - $2000 - Reserved for the very top of my budget. It really has to be a coin that's vital for my collection and that I don't expect to see at auction again.
>$2000 - I admire the pretty pictures online

[kapphnwn]

Most of what I purchase is from auctions. I do not think I have a "sweet spot" To me each coin has its individual optimum value and depending on a whole series of factors, condition, pedigree, strike, how does it fit in what I am trying to convey etc.  If I think the price is too high I will not buy. There are some areas that I still actively collect that I may pay a bit more than what I believe the coin to be worth but not that much over. 

[thenickelguy]

I have never spent near $1000 on a coin but I have bought $100 to $300 numerous times. I tend to stay in the $25 to $50 range. (Especially if the coin is actually worth twice that much). 

I really don't need any more coins but still have the habit.

[Nvb]

While I’m still most comfortable with that 500-999 dollar value, it sure doesn’t buy what it used to. 

Lately I’ve just been saving my cash and waiting for these auction prices to cool.. 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Nvb

[Boomer Simpson]

I chose 50-99, because the only ancient I have at the moment was 61 and some change including shipping. I try to stay at the lower end, and if I can find something real nice for under 50 I'll take it, but the really attractive coins usually sit just above fifty, so that's what I pay. I haven't bought many coins lately, but I'm hoping to get another ancient, or maybe two, before the year's through. Here's my ancient, it's an Antoninianus of Gordian III. Mars on the reverse marching right with a shield and spear. The reverse legend reads "MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM" and the obverse reads "IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG". 

[Finn235]

Depends very much on what part of my collection I'm building. My Roman coins are mostly $150-200 coins for the Julio-Claudians, $100-150 coins for the Flavians and Nerva-Antonines, $50-100 for the Severans through crisis years, $25-50 for the tetrarchs, and $25ish for the late empire. The various rare emperors are of course more expensive. It gives a decently consistent visual appeal throughout:

For Indo-Sassanian, $20 is usually the upper limit, and I rarely go over that except for the most important, unusual, or aesthetic examples.

The most I've ever paid is about $75-150 for a few exceptional and important specimens of the early types

and $250 for an ex-Spengler Gadhaiya of Somalladevi

Otherwise, I rarely spend more than $10 per coin, which is good considering that I have close to 2,000 of them!

[Hrefn]

I chose a level and voted, but it would more accurate to say I have different conceptions of “appropriate” prices which depend on whether the coin I am contemplating is gold, silver, or copper.  Gold coins’ bullion value has a certain impact on market prices, even of ancient and medieval coins.  In an economic world wherein inflation pushes up precious metal prices over decades of time, the bullion or melt value of gold coins serves as an ever-rising floor under collector market prices.   I have a solidus which was sold by Stack’s in the 1960’s for $45.   That was before my time.  But I do have solidi for which I paid about $300, which is not far from their present melt value today.  

Of course, it is more accurate to say the value of gold and silver stays the same, and it is the dollar, euro, and pound which shrink in value. 

I fervently hope we never see the sort of hyperinflation in the West which would render the bullion value of my silver coins relevant to their market price.  For an Anglo-Saxon sceat or Carolingian denier of less than 2 grams, the silver bullion price would have to rise by a multiple of several hundred.  A failure of fiat currency like that is not uncommon in history, but if the dollar collapses that profoundly, cashing in my medieval silver coins will probably not be high on my list of concerns.  

Present sweet spot for gold $800-1500.   Silver $100-1000.