I began collecting coins as a teen, as many young adults do, by purchasing the two Whitman Lincoln Cent coin folders and starting a Lincoln Cent series set. I remember trading in a dollar for a couple of rolls of cents, searching those rolls, and then exchanging rolls for another pair. The best-looking coins I found would be placed in the folder. As the collection grew, I traded in the Whitman coin folders for the Whitman coin albums with the plastic windows. Unfortunately, my interest waned in my college and adult years, and my collection, which I had been very proud of, was eventually misplaced twenty years later. As an older adult, the national attention given to the discontinuation of the Lincoln Cent and the Lincoln Cent Omega Sets being auctioned piqued my interest in coin collecting. As before, I purchased the three Whitman Lincoln Cent coin folders and started a Lincoln Cent series set. In my naivete, I purchased four pounds of “unsearched” Lincoln Cents and relived the experience of searching for coins to fill my folders.
However, I quickly learned that the world and I had both changed. Third-party grading services and encapsulated coins were introduced in the mid-1970s, and with those services came the unacceptability of cleaned coins, as cleaning a coin generally damages its surface. The best-looking coins were no longer the best coins for my collection. After a few bad purchases, I was completely at sea in how to build my coin collection. I took a step backward and reassessed my approach to coin collecting.
I then took a series of classes through the American Numismatic Association’s Diploma Program and obtained their “Numismatic Diploma.” I would recommend these classes for anyone with more than a casual interest in coin collecting. I’m not an expert on coins, but I am better prepared to recognize the issues I face when purchasing coins for my collection.
In the first course of the Diploma Program, I was required to put together an exhibit. The assignment was intended to use coin images obtained online, but I completed the exercise using my nascent Lincoln Cent collection and iPhone camera. The exhibit was not a presentation of rarer coins, but of coins that represented significant events in the history of the Lincoln Cent. The exhibit included exemplars from 1909, with and without the designer’s initials, as well as an exemplar from 1918 – the year the designer’s initials were added to the obverse. The exhibit included an exemplar from 1943 representing the wartime steel cents, as well as one from 1982, the year the Lincoln Cent’s composition transitioned from bronze to copper-plated zinc. The exhibit included exemplars of the different designs of the Lincoln Cent – the Wheat Reverse, the Memorial Reverse, the Bicentennial Reverses, and the Union Shield. The exhibit also included exemplars of each mint mark, including the 2017-P and 2019-W Lincoln Cents. In effect, the exhibit was a type set for the Lincoln Cent.
These classes and this exercise changed the way I looked at coin collecting and what I collect. Based on my interests and financial commitment, my collection activities can be divided into two parts: a Lincoln Cent collection and a United States Type Set collection.
Lincoln Cent Collection. I am working on a Lincoln Cent series set consisting of uncertified coins. I had started this before taking the American Numismatic Association course and intend to complete the collection. However, I have come to believe that any Lincoln Cent minted before 1935 with little wear and decent eye appeal has either been encapsulated already or would fail to be graded. Of the six early coins I submitted for grading, five were not graded because they had been cleaned. This should not be unexpected, as cleaning coins only became disfavored with the advent of third-party grading services. However, due to this belief, completing this set is not currently a priority.
I am also working on a Lincoln Cents series set of certified coins minted between 1909 and 1958. I do, on occasion, acquire certified modern-era Lincoln Cents with unique characteristics, such as the 2017-P and 2019-W Lincoln Cents. I have not yet dived into the sea of varieties and error coins, but have dipped my toe in the water, acquiring a few variety coins.
United States Type Set. I am working on a 21st Century United States type set consisting of uncertified non-bullion, non-gold coins. This set presently requires only a limited amount of coins, but encourages me to follow the activities of the United States Mint.
I am also working on a certified United States type set consisting of certified coins, subject to certain self-imposed restrictions. I am not presently pursuing gold coins, or coins minted before the advent of the steam-powered press in 1836, the latter having low mintages and lower survival rates. For the nineteenth-century coins after this date, I am pursuing a single exemplar for each major design. For example, although there were several major design variations for the Liberty Seated Dimes, Quarters, Half Dollars, and Dollars, I am only pursuing a single exemplar for each denomination. For coins minted in the twentieth century and later, I am seeking examples of each major design variation, as well as any additional coins that are sufficiently distinctive to warrant inclusion in the set.
Finally, as coin collecting is more than simply collecting coins, I have started this website to document my collection activities. I do this more for myself than for an audience. On this site, I post information that I have found interesting or useful and, just as important, rant about what I have come to despise in the industry.