1st Set

Thanks for the advice Ghostrider. I think that I will use one of those ideas as a great way to keep my son intersted in the hobby. He is 11 and has taken a great interest in coins as of late so those are all things that we can do together searching rolls and such.

I think the Ike set is a good idea. Its not that big and there is nothing too expensive. And unless you're planning on getting all the varieties it should be easy.

The Ike's are a great collection and not that many so filling an Album should be easy. However, in most instances you have to purchase all of them. And pending your location and coin show or coin store availability, you may end up using places like ebay where you'll end up paying more for postage and handling, etc.
My suggestion would be Jefferson nickels. That way you and your son could spend a lot of time together searching rolls or just piles of them from change. Many people have completed sets of those without spending extra money above face value. The only problem is since they are still making them, you would really sort of never complete that set until they either stop making them or change to a different person on them.

In reading the posts..... Merc Man, it was never evident to me exactly "how" you planned on collecting the Ikes.
Did you mean you were going to try and get them from "circulation" ? Like Banks and such ? ....
Well, then I saw that you plan on putting them in a "Dansco with Proofs" album (good choice", and obviously, this would "NOT" mean "from circulation, because that would be impossible ! ...

So, my question, do you have a local coin shop near you ?
Do you plan on acquiring them by ebay or some other online entity ?
Getting them here on CCF ?
I wasn't sure "where" you planned on getting them "from".

Some tips:
I got a great start on "my" Ikes by becoming friends with the local coin shop guy. He let me pick out the best choicest "Brown Ikes" from dozens and dozens of choices.

Then I also bought all the U.S. Mint Sets that contained Ikes. And carefully removed them from these original holders and inserted them into the Dansco ....... LOT OF FUN BUD !!
And the shining quality that becomes of the end result ! .... WHEEEWWWW EEEEEE !! Makes for quite the album doing it this way.
If you do coin shows....you can also select the ones you want objectively too.

As far as all of the "varieties" are concerned....well....I'm good with what " I " call "complete".

Quality over Quantity ! ......

Merc Man, I'm originally from Erie, PA and there's a great place there called Dempsey & Baxter that might be able to help you out. I know it's not precisely "NE Ohio", but it's only about a 2hr drive from Cleveland (worth it if they've got something rare you want, I'd say--my family used to drive to Cleveland just for the milkshakes at Yours Truly!) and a Google search for their name provides both their online store and their brick-and-mortar phone number right at the top of the page.

Also, this guy doesn't do a whole lot of work with coins, but he may be a good contact for you: http://edinborojeweler.com/ Cecil is honest and so dedicated to quality in his work that even now, when I live 2500 miles away in a town absolutely crawling with artisan jewelers, I mail my jewelry to a friend back home to take to him for repair. If he can't help you, he should know a couple of local places (or places closer to you) that would be worth your time.

I completed my Ike set and went back and have done a proof ike set and a second complete with varieties. I think its a great set to start and not to pricey. Same with the SBA. those dollars shine so nice in my danscos.

Don't forget to add the 2 Ike commems to your collection too!
(proof and unc) They are 2 more inexpensive dollars, and 90% to boot!

I'm working on my Franklin half circulated set currently, but I think I'll tackle this one next. Thanks for the inspiration.