Do You Set Goals While Collecting

I've been collecting now for about 16 months and just finished the first goal I had set for myself.
That goal was to start at Scott #500 and work backwards in the book until I reached the Admiral lathework section.
I've now got from Scott #140 up to #615 ( that #500 has stretched up to #615 somehow) all in MNH VF OG in my opinion anyway.
At the time I set this first goal I had thought at this point I would start accepting stamps that were mint hinged and set the next goal to complete the Admiral section.
I've now decided to carry on with the MNH VF OG for this series also.
Any place I may have difficulty that I should be aware of that's between Scott #104 - #139?
Note the coils I've been collecting are in pairs.
With this pandemic I didn't pick I good time to start collecting stamps so I don't really have anyone to share these with so I thought I would share some of them here.
Here's the coil pairs so far, some are quite well centred.
Of course all comments welcomed & appreciated.

Cheers, Bill

Lovely collection, Bill.
I like your presentation.
Well done you.

I am thinking, if an image of a typical vending machine exists, would look nice in an album, alongside these.

Very attractive display Bill

It's always good to have and complete goals.

Now that I'm focusing on postal history and postmarks the want lists are getting harder to compile, and much harder to complete!

Indeed, for numeral cancellations for my little part of the world it can never been finished.

One of my current goals is to complete the Fourth Bureau Issue in my MNH U.S. collection. Or at least get the ones that I can realistically afford. I've managed to get two stamps closer to that goal so far this year.

Another goal, a much more easily attainable one, is to complete the Americas (including the West Indies) in my "One Unused 19th-Century Postal Card from Everywhere" collection. I'm only four cards away from reaching that goal.

That second goal will be worth seeing erlilaz!

There was a heck of a lot of postal authorities in the West Indies in the 19th century.

I do not have any time based goals.

Yep. Of those heck of a lot I already have cards from Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba (Spanish colony), Cuba (U.S. administration), Curaçao, Danish West Indies, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Martinique, Montserrat, Nevis, Puerto Rico (Spanish colony), St. Christopher, St. Lucia, St, Vincent, Tobago, Trinidad, Turks Islands, and Virgin Islands (British). I still need Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico (U.S. administration).

You can see the entirety of this collection (so far) starting at these points in these two threads:
https://goscf.com/t/36613&whichpage=45#533985
https://goscf.com/t/73636#660169

A very interesting field erilaz!

Do you get much competition when acquiring material?

I only have a modest array of New South Wales postal stationery that I've picked up over the years. There's one shown in your first link.

It's funny, my goal is to not have an achievable goal. Hence why I create my own specialised albums, which will take me decades (hopefully) to fill.

Very attractive collection you've put together Bill, thanks for sharing it.

Goals: All of them; which is practically impossible, but why not? Realistically/short term, finish Jamaica and the Caymans.

Appreciate all the participation and comments so far, thanks again.
Thought I'd mention this before one of you eagle eyes notices.
Looking at my photo's again I just noticed my #263 in actually a #278. I had bought a new #278 because it was an improvement on the one I had, I can see now when it came I mistakenly placed it in the #263 position.
In the end I found my #263 in with my spares.
As an added point of them all so far I've found the Medallion issue the most difficult to find well centred, the margins between the stamps is so small.

Cheers, Bill

It depends on the country, of course, but in general I probably get less competition for unused 19th-century postal cards than I do in some other collecting areas. Not surprisingly, cards from local private posts tend to be more difficult to get than those issued by governmental postal authorities.

I started my "One from Everywhere" collection only 22 months ago, and at this point I'm still trying to see how far I can go with only low-priced material. That of course makes it more difficult for me when there is competition. Be that as it may, I've still managed to get unused 19th-century postal cards from 195 different entities so far, about 75% of which were under US$5 each, including tax and shipping, and not one of which has cost me more than $15.

One helpful aspect of the "One from Everywhere" concept is that I can usually choose an inexpensive card from a given country and not have to worry about filling spaces with expensive rarities. Occasionally, however, I make it harder for myself by targeting specific issues for aesthetic reasons, rather than buying just anything to fill the space. (That's why I bought that specific New South Wales card, for example.) And of course there are some postal entities where I'll have no other option than to buy something expensive in the end.

I'm in the process of upgrading all my Canadian coils to MNH pairs, and indeed, finding them well-centred can be a challenge. You've got a great little collection there.

~Greg

Very nice Bill. My goal was to obtain VFNH from the Admirals up, however over the years I have come to realize my goal and budget do not see eye to eye. So I have allowed the odd VF lightly hinged stamp into the collection. Presentation with the album is a big thing for me. After making my own pages I now wish I had included coil pairs. I also collect varieties and some of these never hinged are quite expensive (inverted seaway (I wish), RCMP broken leg, Man on Mast). As to your question anything that I should be aware of between Scott 104 - 139 - if you venture into the shades things can get pretty expensive (111a, 113c), but nothing much more than what you experienced with 158 & 159. Happy hunting.

Hi Hound Dog Bill,

I have been working on the Admirals VFNH for a number of years now. I am also doing all of the shades. In VFNH condition, you can expect to sometimes pay more than the catalogue value as there is quite strong demand for this issue. Doing the shades is near impossible on ebay due to seller's perception of colour and the fact that there is not colour standard on computer monitors. So normally I am buying at auction. Bidding can be quite competitive. Still, it is a wonderful issue and from what I have seen, not a terrible investment either if you are able to snag one at a good price.

My goal is MNH Plate Blocks from the point just after the Admirals. I have made great progress over the years but not sure I will live long enough to see the goal accomplished.