Collecting Pennies? Where To Start

If you're really going to collect Lincolns, you'll need a lot more money than (probably) you've spent on Franklins and Kennedys. Get decent albums (Dansco?) from 1909 forward, and start with the easy dates 1934-present until you've mastered grading and set some standards for completing the much more expensive 1909-1933 dates and mintmarks.



to the CCF!

Thanks for the start everyone! I'm looking to probably just get circulated coins right now with maybe some better grade ones to start at least for newer pennies. For older ones I know I am going to be lucky to get better looking ones for the most part, however what is the best way to get a lot of them to start?

If I had to do it all over I'd actually do the opposite of what most of you've recommended. If you're seriously considering a full collection—I'd focus on key dates in as best quality as you possibly could to start with. As the years go by, I can definitely share that dates in better quality become increasingly difficult as time passes.

A good example of this is my 35-S, I overlooked upgrading it for years and now although not a key date, it's become so hard to get a decent price on a great quality coin. That used to be the case with 1930 and earlier... now even the 30-39 coins are harder to come by.

So here I am years later without an 09 S VDB because I've spent so much working every other aspect of my collection LOL and to get the great quality I'm looking for it's sooooooo expensive.

So in conclusion, if you're serious I strongly reccomend working the hard dates first!

and good above advice.

If you want to do circulated, you can't go wrong with a few $25 boxes of cents from the bank. Each will likely net you some nice shiny examples, a lot of copper, and even 5-10 wheats. Also, cracking rolls is one way to multitask while binge-watching Netflix.

Personally I put my "from circulation" cents in a Whitman Classic. I'm at the point where my returns on $25 boxes have diminished to near nothing, but I still like Coin Roll Hunting.

I do have an "uncirculated" or "BU" collection too, and that's in a Dansco. That comes from cracked mint sets and such.

Enjoy the hunt!

I can't even fathom anyone starting a Lincoln collection now. The date and mint range is huge . I started mine in 1962 but that's another story .
I would probably start off with a box or two from the bank . If you really want to start from the beginning then buy folders of all the dates . After the folders then you can upgrade your coins as well upgrading to Dansco or Whitman Albums . Good luck on your journey into Lincoln Cents .

I have a friend selling 2 lb bags of wheats for $35 shipped, wondering if that's a good deal? I've also seen sets of the Memorial cent on ebay for around $15-20 for a complete set from 1959-2018 and was wondering if that's a good deal or not?

Boxes of cents from the bank and constantly upgrading year/mint as you find nicer ones. You'll be amazed at how nice of a collection you'll accumulate.

I would be tempted to skip a large volume of old worn & dirty Lincoln wheat cents and slowly buy a few beautiful cents in each decade.

How much money do you want to spend? Do you have family members interested in coin collecting?

At some point - too many cents become a burden. How many 40s & 50s Wheat cent pennies do you need? How many non-key duplicate cents do you need & want to store....