the halfway point

I have been purchasing (or trying to, rather) 1954 common lots for my set. A lot of 30 arrived yesterday and a lot of 23 arrived today. After going through them, marking them off on my master list and marking which ones I eventually want to replace (more on that shortly), I am at 127 cards total towards the set. Officially putting me at the halfway point to completion. I now also have a small stack of duplicates, around 40 total. Most of them I have only one duplicate but some I have more, including this one:

How do I end up with four of the same card? It's not like these are 1988 Donruss, these are 1954 Topps. Maybe they aren't as scarce as I perceive them to be. Commons are commons. I have gotten cards in all sorts of conditions. The top left copy of good ol' Jerry here is the one for the set, so of course I keep the best condition copy in the binder. While that copy of Lane's card is far from perfect, it is quite suitable for the set. I don't mind soft corners or maybe even a crease or two but for commons I would like them to not be horrific. Here is something that needed to be (and did get) replaced:

Scrapes and paper loss I would like to replace. Cards that are creased all over and have the edges frayed and corners super ratty will get replaced eventually.

Star cards are different, cards like this can stay:

I am not about to replace Hank here. I spent enough just getting this card and this one is good enough by me. I have one more lot coming (21 cards), and I'm watching another. Hopefully these two will bring me many more non-duplicates towards my set. Sure I can check and see which numbers I need and base my buying decision on that but where is the fun? Buying up common lots at a good price (I try to get them about fifty cents to a buck a card), is like buying a bunch of packs and checking them to see what I get. Once I get closer to the set I'll start checking for what I need. Until then I need to many to worry about it. Plus I can always sell off or trade the doubles away. Its win-win.