As I became engaged in coin collecting later in life, my initial focus was simple. I had collected Lincoln Cents as a teenager, and my first foray into coin collecting was simply to pick up where I left off – I purchased a set of Dansco Albums for Lincoln Cents and ten pounds of Lincoln Cents, Wheat Reverse to search. However, both the industry and I had changed over that forty-year gap. Some bad experiences with a few online dealers and altered coins, and the hard realities of non-certified early Lincoln Cents, brought this singular focus into question.
Completing courses offered by the American Numismatic Association broadened my interests beyond the Lincoln Cent series to other coins. Overwhelmed by the vast amount of information on United States coinage and lacking the focus I had in a simple, non-certified Lincoln Cent collection, I found it necessary to expand while also setting boundaries for the collection I seek to build. During this period of uncertainty, I purchased some coins and later questioned whether these coins should be included in my collection. As a result, before acquiring any coin today, I ask, why this coin?
To answer this question, it was necessary to identify sets within my collection and define the purpose of each set and the exemplars it would include. Most of these sets are well-defined and stable today, but as additional research is conducted, some are revised. This post is of more interest to me than others and was written to ensure each set is clearly defined. The set are as follows:
The Non-Certified Lincoln Cent Series Collection.
This set seeks to include a non-certified exemplar of every Lincoln Cent in the series, excluding varieties and pre-1959 proof coins. In general, since non-certified early Lincoln Cents with decent eye appeal are likely to have been cleaned, the objective is to complete the collection without expending significant resources. This is a concession to my initial focus, as it was completed before I undertook the process of setting the boundaries of my collection, with the exception of pre-1935 Lincoln Cents.
The Certified Lincoln Cent Series Collection, Wheat Reverse
This set seeks to include a certified exemplar of every Lincoln Cent in the series prior to 1959, excluding varieties and early matte proofs.
The Certified Lincoln Cent Collection of Unique Coins
This set is a catch-all for other Lincoln Cents not in the above set that are unique in some way that warrant their inclusion in my collection, such as well-known Lincoln Cent varieties (e.g., the 1955 DDO Lincoln Cent) and singular issues (e.g., the 2019-W Lincoln Cent). This is a concession to my decision not to compile a certified set for the entire Lincoln Cent series.
The Certified Type Set of United States Coins
This set seeks to include certified exemplars representing all designs found on United States coinage and is divided into the following subparts:
a. The Nineteenth Century Type Set – Early United States Coins
This subpart seeks to include one certified exemplar for each denomination between 1792 and 1838 (early United States coins), and one certified exemplar for each denomination between 1839 and 1858 (i.e., the Seated Liberty coin design). The intent is to capture the major designs of these coins without compiling each design type for early United States coins.
b. The Nineteenth Century Type Set – Westward Expansion
This subpart seeks to complete the nineteenth century and include one certified exemplar for each design type. Unlike the early United States coins, the type set contains exemplars for every design type.
c. The Twentieth Century American Coin Renaissance
This subpart opens with the coins of the dawn of the Twentieth Century, such as the Barber Dime, Quarter, and Half Dollar, as a transition to its presentation of the coins of the Twentieth-Century American Coin Renaissance. This subpart includes an exemplar of each design type between 1900 and 1930. This set, together with the next two sets, constitutes a complete twentieth-century type set of United States coins.
Note. With three exceptions, gold, platinum, or palladium coins are excluded from all subparts of this set. The three exceptions are the Saint Gaudens $20 Double Eagle, the Indian $10 Eagle, and the Indian $5 eagle, given their significance in the Twentieth-Century American Coin Renaissance.
d. Post Twentieth Century American Coin Renaissance
This subpart opens with the coins of the Twentieth-Century American Coin Renaissance, minted during the Depression Era, as the United States Mint transitioned from artistic, allegorical designs that were difficult to strike and wore out quickly to more pragmatic designs that focused on real-life American heroes. This subpart includes an exemplar of each design type between 1932 and 1964.
e. The Modern Era in the Twentieth Century
This subpart opens with the coins of 1964, which were made of silver, to the coins of 1965, the first year of the Modern Era, where the coins had the same designs but were significantly different – silver coins were transitioned to clad coins, mint marks were removed to discourage “hoarding” of coins by collectors, and proof sets were discontinued. This subpart seeks to include one certified exemplar for each Modern Era design type of the twentieth century.
Note: Except for coins only available in proof form, all coins from before the Modern Era in this type set are business strike coins, and except for coins not available in proof form, all coins from the Modern Era in this type set are proof coins.
f. The Twenty-First Century Type Set
This subpart seeks to include one certified twenty-first-century exemplar for all design types of the twenty-first century, including those first introduced in the twentieth century.
Note. With three exceptions, gold, platinum, or palladium coins are excluded from this type set. The three exceptions are the Saint Gaudens $20 Double Eagle, the Indian $10 Eagle, and the Indian $5 eagle, given their significance in the Twentieth-Century American Coin Renaissance.
The Non-Certified Set of Twenty-First Century United States Coins
This set seeks to include one non-certified twenty-first-century exemplar for each design type, including those first introduced in the twentieth century. This is a concession to my desire for an accessible type-set collection, coins not maintained in protective boxes, stored in a secure location.
The Certified Set of United States Coins representing the History of the United States Mint
This set is an offshoot of the Certified Type Set of United States Coins and seeks to include certified examples that explore the history of each branch of the United States Mint. Unlike the other set, this one includes gold, platinum, and palladium coins from the West Point Mint, as it is nearly impossible to represent the mint’s history without them.
The Certified Set of United States Coins representing the Modern United States Mint
This set is an offshoot of the Certified Type Set of United States Coins and seeks to include certified exemplars, starting with the 1992-S Silver Proof Collector’s Set, to explore the concept of the Modern United States Mint as a business with an ever-expanding product line of limited-production numismatic items, intended to increase sales to collectors, and in doing so, fundamentally changed the foundations of coin collecting.
The Certified Set of United States Coins representing the History of the United States Mint, the Certified Set of United States Coins representing the Modern United States Mint, and the Certified Lincoln Cent Collection of Unique Coins are the three sets subject to revision based on my research into the United States Mint. This provides a great deal of flexibility but with some constraint to add coins so long as there is a reasonable context for the coins in the above sets. The 1953-S Franklin Half-Dollar may be eschewed but the 1954-S Franklin Half-Dollar was the last circlating half dollar minted by the San Francisco Mint.