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Is a lincoln collections a good idea?


Kristofer

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Would it be terribly difficult to start a lincoln collection? And how do people typically do it, do they go for every one of them, or do they collect a specific set of years?

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do they collect a specific set of years?

 

Well, Kristofer, it is rather difficult to collect just one Lincoln set or year as there are only a small handful coins for each year, except for 1982 when the metal content of the Lincoln changed.

If you consider collecting them at all, check out as many sites about copper pennies as you can find.

Try to learn as much about them as you are able. Do you have access to any of the books written about different aspects of Lincolns?

The first three books I acquired when I got serious about collecting coins were The Red Book, Looking Through Lincoln Cents, and Photograde. These books are not the only ones available, but they helped me to learn more about the coins and what to expect as a collector. Recently I ordered more books in the same line to help me with areas these three books do not cover.

Then you need to decide how serious the collection will be. Most of us start out with pocket change and use the 'Whitman' style coin books. But after acquiring a number of proof and uncirculated pennies I moved on to the Dansco style album.

Of course, keeping pennies in the coin flips are also better for storage than open faced books, but much more difficult to display.

Do you have any coin stores nearby that you can check out? The people who own the stores and some of their employees can be very helpful with information about coins. And, you have an opportunity to see many different phases of the Lincoln cent in person.

It is pretty easy to collect Lincolns, and fairly inexpensive if you are not going after the top of the line model, or are not overly concerned about getting those key dates that will cost way too many dollars, if you can find them.

If you want to cover most bases with Lincolns and can afford to do so, you might start the modern years by purchasing the mint uncirculated, the proof and the silver proof sets of coins. Not only will this give you the full set of Lincolns for the year, but give you a great start on collecting the other US coins also.

Just remember, this thing can get out of hand quite quickly and that like the potato chip commercial says, 'you can't eat just one'.

Good luck and keep asking questions. The delightful CP family here has taught me more about coins and banknotes than I could ever learn on my own.

 

Corky

 

P.S. Then there are the 'error' coins... a whole 'nother topic that requires a lot of serious inspection and research of any coin.

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Funny story about the errors. Last night I grabbed the little change dish by my couch and grabbed a 4x (I know, weak) magnifying glass and started inspecting, nothing found though :ninja: But thank you very much for your response; it's greatly appreciated.. I like the penny idea because it's copper, it's most likely cheaper then a lot of other collections(Although, I know there are exceptions!) and I like the variety out there.

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Just go with what you enjoy, don't worry about investment yet and errors will find their way to you sooner or later!

 

I took a £20 note to the bank and asked for 20p coins, that way I found my first modern milled error. But now the cashier thinks I'm weird... :ninja:

 

Clive.

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Lol, I considered doing things like that.

 

[Enters Bank and casually walks up to teller]

Teller: Hello, how may I help you?

Kristofer: [slaps a 100 dollar bill on the counter.] Ten thousand pennies please.

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[slaps a 100 dollar bill on the counter.] Ten thousand pennies please.

 

Heehee, that is funny. ;)

 

A few weeks ago I took in several rolls of quarters, dimes and nickels, and 278 rolls of pennies to do just he opposite as you would like to do now. If my feeble math skills are correct, that is 13,900 pennies. :ninja:

Guess you are going to the wrong bank....

 

Corky

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Hi Kristofer if your interested I have 4 rolls in wheat pennies I would like to sell, but I would need scrape price for them which is a $1.50 per roll so it would be $6.00 for all that I have older pennies are worth 3 cents apiece. Let me know if you would like them there very well could be error coins in there I have never looked.

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Lincions are my main set right now. They are fun and easy. Here is how I got started.

 

Find a dealer who is selling "unsearched" wheat cents by the pound (thats right a pound). Look in catologs ( the kind you subscribe to) and online (not eb-y). Order them and also order folders or albums from 1909-1940, 1941-1974, 1975-Date . When they get there the fun begins. You get to sort through all 145 (one pound) of the wheats.

 

Still missing dates? First don't even try finding the 1909-S V.D.B, 1909-S, 1914-D, 1931-S. Those are rare, and are not as cheap as your advrage wheat ( wich is around 15 cents). Also the wheats were last maded in 1958. Then Don't buy another bag of wheats. I did that and did not find anything. Check the requirements, and ask here on coinpeople in the want to trade fourm. Also a dealer will fill your other dates.

 

Lincoins are going to have a design ( and posiably a compsition change) in 2009. They are going to become more and more popular.

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Thanks Numismatic nut, especially for that popularity insight.

 

Moneydog, how does one go about purchasing from another on this site?

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PM each other and share PayPal email addresses or home addresses to send money to each other.

 

i.e. Moneydog gives you his PayPal email address, you go to your PayPal account and send $6 to his email address.

 

Clive.

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PM each other and share PayPal email addresses or home addresses to send money to each other.

 

i.e. Moneydog gives you his PayPal email address, you go to your PayPal account and send $6 to his email address.

 

Clive.

Thanks clive!

 

That makes sense.

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You can start a nice Lincoln collection by first doing the Memorials only. They're all pretty easy to come by in change, except the proofs. Maybe you should get a nice album or set of folders. That would give you a guide on the dates and special varieties you'd look for. A Memorial set in UNC/PRF is still rather inexpensive. When you're almost done with that start back into the older coins with another album. It's lots of fun.

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As was mentioned this is a great place to do some trades/purchases. We have lots of folks who should have nice modern Lincolns available.

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  • 2 months later...

Bank roll searching for lincoln memorial cents can be quite rewarding, with patience you can put together an entire non-proof set of nearly UNC specimens. Of course it is easier if you live in an area with good distribution from both P and D mints. There are always a few wheat cents in the rolls as well, though you'd be hard pressed to assemble the common dates older than about 1940 in this way, even if you were to go through multipule boxes on a weekly basis.

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