How To Fill Common Dates For 1909-1934 Lincoln Cents.

Welcome to CC!

The best way to get started is to go to the bank and ask for a box of pennies. Generally you'll find 2-3 wheats per box and they'll only cost 1 cent.

Not sure doing the bank thing will produce the coins from 1909 to 1934 but maybe I would bet you will go through a lot of boxes to find 1 of those dates. I would try your local coin shop you mite pay a little above what the book says there worth but to get AUCoins or something around that it will be very hard to find in the wild but not impossible. Good luck

I would look at coins in the Fine to Very Fine grade. This grading area is decent with good eye appeal. That way the semi keys won't set you back too much in cost and wont drastically look different in grade from the common dates.

Find a dealer (for in person relationship) or online dealer that has consistent photos. There are a couple that use scanners so that each coin has the exact same lighting and 'look' to them. Buy some test coins and compare them in hand with the online photos till you find a dealer you can trust and get an 'eye' for what to look for in the photos.

Highly unlikely you'll find any pre-1934 Lincolns by searching through bank rolls. Might be worth it to buy some Wheat penny rolls at your LCS or off eBay—some are even advertised as older rolls. You won't find key dates, but it would be a relatively inexpensive way to get most of the common dates.

Some sellers have consistent photos and I have been able to acquire a week or two weeks' worth or auction wins before I requested them to be shipped in bulk. Returns are easy. Once you get an eye for how their photos show details you know what to look for in future auctions. Also, the more auctions they have the better sales history you can research from their previous auctions.

Spend your time looking for the semi keys, the common ones will come much easier, faster & cheaper. Just add the common ones to fill out a shipment here and there keeping costs per coin down.

Oh! One more thing. If you are questioning an ebay sellers integrity, search them here on CCF in the discouraged sellers forum. When I get a bad coin from a seller with doctored photos and then come here after the fact to research, low and behold the folks here have already called them out.

Common dates from the 10s and 20s are certainly findable in rolls, so I actually would recommend starting there even if only to fill holes with coins that'll be upgraded later on.

@desert-storm9091 any pics of your 1935-1958 coins? I'm trying to do a year set, and my goal is a MS-65 RD for each year; I'm nowhere near completion given my limited budget but I'm curious because I like looking at nice old cents.

I can easity supply you with nice G-VG Philly coins from 1910-1933 for very little money, but it sounds like you've set your sights on higher grades. In many cases I can help you here as well. Contact me when forum rules allow.