Which would you buy from the three items on offer

You are, say, a collector of three different collectables and you enter a shop and there are one of each for sell, which you have always desired to own.
Each item is for sale at the exact same price, and is at the extreme limit of your spending.
How do you decide, which to by, and why.
As I collect coins, banknotes and military medals, I would find it near impossible to choose, especially knowing that the two I did not buy, would be snapped up, I probably would never see them again.

I recently went to a coin shop, and in the window was a GB white 5 pound banknote, which, on first inspection, looked to have my exact birth date on it. Once I put my glasses on, I realized only the year was correct. It was for sale at £165.00, but had it been my exact birth date, could not have left it in the shop.
This was easy, as there were no other collectables for sale, I desired as much as the banknote.

I await for replies.

I have experienced the same a couple of times. I am of the belief that opportunity knocks once and very seldom twice. Something will have to suffer in favor of the opportunity presented ..

Quote: "COINMAN1"​You are, say, a collector of three different collectables and you enter a shop and there are one of each for sell, which you have always desired to own.
​Each item is for sale at the exact same price, and is at the extreme limit of your spending.
​How do you decide, which to by, and why.
​As I collect coins, banknotes and military medals, I would find it near impossible to choose, especially knowing that the two I did not buy, would be snapped up, I probably would never see them again.
​
​I recently went to a coin shop, and in the window was a GB white 5 pound banknote, which, on first inspection, looked to have my exact birth date on it. Once I put my glasses on, I realized only the year was correct. It was for sale at £165.00, but had it been my exact birth date, could not have left it in the shop.
​This was easy, as there were no other collectables for sale, I desired as much as the banknote.
​
​I await for replies.

​If the opportunity were equal, I'd get the one that is the hardest to find.

JRo69,
What they were equally difficult to get? I am trying to make this choice as difficult as possible.
As for me, I have no idea which I would choose.
My imaginary choices at this time are below, but will never happen.
1. Coin. A good coin that would fill a gap in my collection
2. Banknote. As stated above, a GB White £5 note with my full birth date
3. Medal. Again, a gap filled that would really enhance my collection.

This is never going to happen, but what a difficult situation you find yourself.

Would you be happy with your final choice of extremely sad at what you had to leave behind.

Quote: "COINMAN1"​JRo69,
​What they were equally difficult to get? I am trying to make this choice as difficult as possible.
​As for me, I have no idea which I would choose.
​My imaginary choices at this time are below, but will never happen.
​1. Coin. A good coin that would fill a gap in my collection
​2. Banknote. As stated above, a GB White £5 note with my full birth date
​3. Medal. Again, a gap filled that would really enhance my collection.
​
​This is never going to happen, but what a difficult situation you find yourself.
​
​Would you be happy with your final choice of extremely sad at what you had to leave behind.

​Sorry, didn't quite understand.
I wouldn't get the banknote, as I like them, but not a huge banknote fan. It would have to be a really special banknote for me to choose it.
I don't collect medals/tokens/fantasy pieces.
So that leaves the coin that would fill a gap in my collection as my choice.
I love finding hard to get coins.

JRo69,
My senario, was a fictitious situation.
You have to choose your own three different collectables, then make your choice, and the difficulties around making that choice.
Hope that clears up the question I am asking

I've spoken to a few other collectors who collect my sort of 'price range' and the 'circle of collecting life' seems to go something like this:

- Buy stuff you like
- Run out of money
- See something you like more which you MUST have, either for sale or at auction soon
- Scramble fast to sell some of your collection to raise funds
- Buy/Bid on the new items
- Repeat

I'm currently doing it.... There are 2 items I want in September auctions, and one I wanted in a stacks bowers one recently which I lost, and I need to raise around £3000.... So, off to ebay we go for the grind.

tldr: Probably I'd try to attain all of them, but at a cost of current items I wanted to keep less.

£3,000???????
It would take me months to raise that. By then, the item I would choose and the other two, would be sold.

I would split my budget into three parts, and use it to do part payment on all the three of them, and pay
the remaining money in two steps, so I will get the three coins which i like. It will only take a little more
time, and the dealer has to agree ofcourse, but in my expirience, 9 out of 10 times they will do that.
I used this policy on different occasions, even on E-bay.
It is very bad if you have to let go a beautifull item, only because of something dumb as money...

I would buy the one that I had wanted the longest and if I truly could not afford the others I would not regret not getting them. Once I had decided I would move on. With coins I have not experienced this but with stamp collecting in a previous life I often experienced it.

Will

I consider myself lucky, as I have never been in this predicament, and I hope it never happens.

Coinman48, I like your idea of the longest, but I feel it would still be difficult. Just a quick question then. Did any of the others every come your way later?

I had this happen to me once. I was looking at several medieval hammered coins, around 900 each. I realized I just needed to walk away and take a break from the hobby.

jadejackal,
So you walked away from all options. That must have been worse.
Hope you are back into collecting now.

COINMAN1,

Yes, I did get the second and third items for collecting later. The most and longest desired was a complete set of Sierra Leone 1933 Wilberforce stamps, second was a complete set of Portugal's 1895 Saint Anthony stamps (available from a Portuguese dealer for less than it was from an American dealer when I bought the Wilberforce stamps) and third was a Straits Settlements 4 cent stamp with an 1882 overprint indicating use at their Bangkok post office before Siam had stamps (the third was actually missed by a dealer when selling a huge mixture of Malayan and Straits Settlements stamps). Circumstances eventually made me sell my collection and these were among my gems.

Will

Since most Collections often get passed down generation to generation I think I would choose whatever item my family would appreciate most when I’m gone. Then I’m sure I would just regret not getting the others after the fact and wish I had chosen differently.

Matt

For me it would be a stamp and at that this stage I am saving money, so would pass.

1. Stamp (Would need to be a 5/- Mt Cook 1898 London Print MINT)
2. Coin - A waitangi crown of 1935 preferably UNC
3. Banknote - A NZ £50 note of Lefeaux (1930s) or TP Hanna (1940s)

At this stage it would be the Waitangi Crown - such a magnificent coin.

And my spending limit would be $7,500

There is no object in the world that would cause me this much consternation.
If faced with this dilemma I would choose whatever my heart told me was the most beautiful object on that day. I would purchase that and have no regret.
The Waitangi crown sounds pretty good to me too.