Most And Least Cleaned Coin Types

You have already accomplished two important missions in your coin collecting.

First, you are asking questions. Second, you are trying to establish a GOAL as to what to collect.

With the possible exception of new coins still readily found in circulation, I doubt there is any series that hasn't been subject to cleaning. My guess would be that the older the coins, the more likely that someone, at some time, has attempted to clean them - or remove the "tarnish".

There is always the option of buying enough TPG (Third Party Graded) coins to get a better idea of what a non-cleaned coin should look like. Or, if you look at enough of them, especially ones that have been designated as "improperly cleaned" you will soon educate yourself well enough with the common market grades to have an enhanced ability to determine the genuineness of a coin.

When I first got back into collecting US coins, I shied away from the TPG's because I thought they would be a lot more expensive for the same coin. Actually, if you check ebay closed sales, you will see that this is not true. Often times, especially on "collector" series such as Indian cents and Buffalo nickels (to name two only), you will see that the folks who DO NOT WANT slabbed coins will pay as much, or more, for the same coin that is graded and certified.

Some older series, especially the coppers, are not only hard to find un-cleaned, but have a plethora of other problems related to corrosion. I think the toughest thing to collect would be old copper (large cents, Half Cents, Two Cents) that hasn't been cleaned and hasn't suffered corrosion.

One of the best series to collect, as you can stay nearer silver value, would be the Franklin halves. But until you've had some practice those can be tough to grade. Especially the last few years prior to 1959.

Moxking, I'm still trying to narrow it down! I have it narrowed down to these coins:

Indian Head cents:
Pros:
I love how they look
can get a lot of the dates inexpensively
no mint marks, so although they span 50 years, it's only 50 some coins, not 100 or 150. Easier to inventory and look for at shops/shows without the added dimension of mint marks
Cons:
Older, more subjected to cleaning/corrosion.
Some of the dates look rather expensive.
Can't buy cheap bags of them like LWCs

Lincoln wheat cents:
Pros:
plentiful, so it's easier to get to a point where you've looked at thousands of them and become familiar with grading, cleaning, damage
can put together several sets like low grade, high grade, and unusual things like the woodie ones
I like the obverse, but I'm in love with the reverse. love the gothic lettering on it.
Can go NUTS with them as far as buying in bulk
Cons:
Buying bulk wheat cents can be a bust, I can imagine getting to a point where I have bags and bags of them all labeled "cleaned, corroded, verdigris level 1,2,3," which can pile up, probably spend more time sorting and trying to get rid of the culls than doing anything else
Run of coins spans 50 years with 3 different mints so its a lot to "know about" as I'm sure dies and strikes differ over the years
Not silver, melt value at best wont be much for many years (if ever) not that I plan on melting them but if a time comes, I think it'll be easier to exchange all of my least desired silvers for some cash over selling bulk LWCs on ebay

Mercury dimes
Pros:
One of my favorite designs
can fill a bunch of holes from junk bins, can get 10 for $1 face value which currently means 10 dimes for $15 (vs 2 for halves, 4 for quarters)
I'm still obtaining some silver, and the commons and culls I accrue will still have some commodity kind of value for either trading for more coins, or getting some cash to buy more
Will be able to own a reasonable amount of them, but wont be sifting through thousands like LWCs.
Cons:
SMALL. Doesn't have the appeal that a half or silver dollar does, need more magnification to inspect, might go cross eyed getting to know them. Although at the same time the size can sometimes be appealing because small things can be more impressive since they can look more intricate
Seems like a thoroughly studied and picked over series, wont be making any major scores or finds since I feel like a lot of people collect these
The upside to this is I'm sure there are lots of books and info on them

Silver Roosevelts
Pros:
same as mercs, but the set is easier to complete, and I can collect the clad also
Still relatively cheap, could go up with value with time
Cons:
Not in love with the designs, more into the various designs of lady liberty than a real person's face
Also SMALL


Walking Liberty halves
Pros:
One of my favorite designs
Bigger in size, more coin to hold in the hand, easier to handle
can fill holes from junk bins
getting a decent amount of silver
they cost more so i'd spend more time shopping for individual coins and focus on quality
Cons:
Like the mercuries, they are older and whats out there is out there, not gonna find anything of great value in a junk bin
Not as plentiful as the later half dollars


Franklin halves
Pros:
More plentiful than walkers
many still in MS condition
could be easy to complete a set
Many can be bought at junk silver price
Could be a good investment since they could rise in value over time
Cons:
not in love with how they look, they are neat, but not as cool as a Mercury dime or walkers
could be difficult to grade

Whew! Now all of these are just observations, feel free to tell me I'm completely wrong about certain things. The main points of concern for picking a type to focus on have me juggling the following criteria, and not knowing how to prioritize it:

-Aesthetic appeal (dont want to be staring at hundreds of coins and realize I've grown to hate the design)
-Ease of grading and learning about them
-Investment value (This is important to me, I think simply stacking silver is kinda boring, but i'd want to start collecting a type that has promise of making some scores, or at least knowing they are getting more valuable as time goes on)
-Cost (i want it to be affordable enough that I can buy them regularly, not buying one expensive coin every few months). Figure I spend $100-$150 a month on coins and coin related stuff

I feel like I'm aware of the advantages of become an expert on one type. I dont want to feel overwhelmed going into a shop, or store, or ebay and being distracted by everything else. I'd like to be able to see a counter full of coins and think "ok I remember I have things, I know whats most common, I know what's rare, and I have a hand full of dates in mind I'm looking for". I know I'm also going to be generally overpaying for a lot of coins if I'm just buying left and right, a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and just be left with a big cabinet of random stuff. There also seem to be a lot more subtleties to a type like strike quality, dies, history, that wont be picked up on if I'm not focused.

Bust halves and quarters are found cleaned most of the time. That is why TPGs are often lenient with them.