Back in the General Forum, MOMBO asked:
http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/Forum1/HTML/000253.html Actually, posts in other threads got me thinking about new collectors trying to amass every HL made, plus variations. It would appear that this is getting to be near impossible. Just trying to figure out what exactly you're looking at is quite challenging! Unless some of the really rare pieces happen to turn up at a garage sale, it would seem highly unlikely that one could reasonably expect to acquire them all.
Well, of course it's always possible, it just depends on how deep your pockets are. I know of someone who did it in about 2 years. I don't know what that person spent to do it.
If you download Tim's Excellent Excel Spreadheet and use his secondary market values for 1/99 (or 5/98 if no value is shown for 1/99), you can tally up the costs:
Valuing every currently available lighthouse at retail, the total is: $25,806.
Two lighthouses constitute about one-fourth of that amount: Original Cape Hatteras ($4,600) and Coquille River ($2,575)
Another six lighthouses have a market value of over $400 and make up $3,611 of the total. (New Point Loma, Cape Hatteras R2, Portland Head St. Augustine, Hilton Head and the New Point Loma Minature*
So if you're shy of the 8 most costly limiteds, you'll spend about $15,000 in round numbers.
These prices do NOT include variations such as water color or mis-identified flag. One time last year, I figured the "one of everything" value at about $55,000. Some of these sell for $2,500-$4,500.
So you can see that making the leap into the variations thing can cause you to need a second mortgage.
As I pointed out some time ago, the NUMBER of different lighthouses available is going make it more likely that individuals will set limits or goals for their collecting. Perhaps Great Lakes or Atlantic Coast or Oregon only. With a limited goal you'll have to decide if you want to acquire the most expensive ones in your region or whether you also want to collect the variations.
The important thing is to set a goal that's within your finances and stick with it.
John
[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 03-15-99).]
