I was on the Fl Turnpike this weekend and stopped and looked for crushed penny machines. They used to have them at all the rest stops. None there. š
Nice grouping of elongated coins. I have always enjoyed these. It seems most of the machines are disappearing. A shame as they are such fun and make great souveniers.
Slabbed Ikes are usually neat coins. The true uncirculated versions and the proofs show such nice detail. It seems that many of the circulation strikes were poorly done from the start and thus lack detail and nice fields. I hope you do well on your quest.
Nice tripods are not very expensive and will save you a lot of work and headaches. It needs to be sturdy but not backpackable and so the older metal models will keep the cost way down.
Ike proofs, esp the clad coins are not really worrh very much so putting them in an album should not really be an issue for many collectors. I believe Dansco makes an Eisenhower Dollar album thtpat has spaces for the clad and silver proof coins.
I think the good old days of coin collecting are past - for now. Even the local club and shows and such are not really even close to the way they used to be. Small crowds. Dealers only looking for elite buyers, etc.