That much discussed and debated 1875 came in the mail Tuesday.

I over-spent my coin budget a little bit to get it with the agreement that I wouldn’t buy anything for a month or so while my budget caught up with the spending. It’s a deal I’ve made in the past and one I made again because I’ve been worried that the current run-up in the gold price could continue and that could make the coins more expensive to buy in another month or so. Even so, it was a modest over-reach of my budget, just $200 or so.

Like others I don’t think I’d get away with taking out a loan, a HELOC, or a mortgage for a coin, but I can pretty easily get away with buying something on the first day of a credit card billing cycle and making the bank give me a 50 day interest-free loan, because, why not? Add in the cashback and they're basically paying me to use the card.

The collecting budget is going to be a little more generous in the final third of the year now that the short-term cash crisis caused by Sam’s birth is resolving - this is in no small part because my wife started a side-hustle that is already paying off in a big way. I'm hoping this might let some projects that are currently tabled to move forward again.

My wife, ever one to tease me, joked Monday night saying, “So I get to keep it for a month until you’ve paid for it, right?” Like it was a layaway purchase. She does these things specifically to get a reaction out of me, but I usually don’t take the bait and didn’t this time. I just shrugged and said, “sure, if you want to.”

For me, the important part was securing the coin for the set at a price I was happy paying. But, I’m still the father of two young sons. I don’t usually get hours to sit and look through coins anyway. It’s not uncommon for the coins in this set to spend a month or two in their box and not come out for air. So, the idea of this coin spending a month in a different box just doesn’t illicit a big response from me. Getting the coin in September or October still gives me more than enough time to get it in the registry set and get pictures taken and posted.

But, it was all just to tease me anyway. She wanted me to take it when it arrived and enjoy it and she had no interest in keeping the thing shoved in her underwear drawer for the next month. So, the coin has joined the rest of the set, physically and electronically.

The coin itself is quite attractive. I have a feeling I may actually like it more than the PCGS MS67 in overall look and I think the strike and / or die-state might even be nicer. Both this new MS66 and the PCGS MS67 have some die polish lines apparent on some parts of the field.

I ended up being very happy that I didn’t try to wait and get that other MS66 in the old fatty holder when it was re-listed. Not only is the one I got a very nice coin, but the seller relisted that other one yesterday for $150 more than they were asking for before - $600 for the coin, when I picked up this one for just under $400. That was surprising.

Sam will be 7 months old in a week. He’s about 13 pounds now - over 4 times his birth weight. He’s lagging behind on some developmental milestones but he’s making progress and getting physical therapy sessions every 2 weeks to track his progress and advise on how to help him  learn. But, he’s a happy baby most days. He slept his way through New York City with his mom last week.