Best Way To Put Together High Quality Lincoln Cents 1959-Date?

Anyone reading this thread might get the feeling this market can never develop because of the daunting task of securing thousands of rolls and mint sets to search for hundreds of dates of 1959 to current lincolns. I have not found these coins to be so tough. I do not believe that the surviving mint sets have all been searched or that one can find every date in BU rolls. I've seen and pawed through hundreds of books and boxes of moderns prepared by dealers looking for better dates and Gems. Most who do it don't do it as a profit center but to productively use quiet time in their shops and chiefly as a public service.

There are Gem lincolns everywhere but the trick is to find them because they hide among a lot of very poor and mediocre coins. Even high grade slabbed memorials can be very poorly made.

Lincolns can be very difficult to clean and many aren't worth the effort of trying. But when one looks like it can be cleaned I have an excellent chance of success using simple processes that revolve largely around just soaking them in 91% isopropyl alcohol and acetone. Some dates can be very difficult and some dates like the '68 Philly are rarely worth the effort of trying.

The toughest nice attractive Gem for me is the '84 and the second is the '68. Unless the '84 shows up in rolls it's going to be the most elusive otherwise it will probably be the '68. There are several very tough dates in Gem and dates that are very hard to find in rolls. Some dates are usually skunked in rolls.

Between the price guides suggesting every date is common and the lack of a market I wonder if moderns will ever be collected. I've always been concerned that the lack of supply and especially the lack of a supply of nice coins would be highly detrimental to modern markets. But I always figured that at least there are plenty of nice Gem one cent coins and dimes. Now it looks like dimes were barely saved at all and pennies have also become hard to find. Few dealers have any interest in stepping in to fill the vacuum when price guides list rare coins for 30c. Guides have little incentive to fix the pricing when there is no market.

It took decades for modern haters to accept the fact that most moderns are scarce or rare in high grade. How long will it take for them to realize many moderns are tough even in MS-64 and MS-65? And then it might take decades more for them to realize most moderns are kind of ugly under MS-64.

Beautiful coins!!! It looks like most of them are Gem.

MS-65 will not break the bank on this set. Only a few coins are tough enough in Gem that you'll probably have to buy them and they can be only a few dollars apiece.

Assembling them individually is the way to go.

I'm still looking for a 1968P upgrade. My D & S are nice but the P has been very challenging. This is my current but the luster down and I hate spots. Still hunting for an upgrade!






1984 - always looking a better one but this one PL:

Nice coins!!

It's hard to find cents of these dates so nice and even MS-65 can be pretty tough.

'74-S. '71-S. '79-D are tough as well in MS-65 and higher. I find attractive 1981's elusive but I like them with nice flat surfaces and most collectors don't mind if they aren't.

I could be wrong but I believe you can identify the ones that will go bad. They have discontinuations in the copper plating. These can be hard to see and sometimes show up on the sides of the lettering where the die just strips the copper off. Even if you keep they dry the zinc will react to air eventually.

I don't think I've had this problem. I do have rolls rot once in a while but all the coins are adjacent and I blame it on a single point spreading. I've really been pretty lucky with the oxidation and have more problem with the coins spotting, tarnishing, and getting carbon spots.

Clad doesn't do this except for some spotting and nickels have proven even more stable.

I recommend the black ring Airtites. The direct fit don't always "direct fit" and your coins can rattle around inside or even not go in. Also, the foam provides a better seam seal and can act as an absorbent material for the stuff that leaks in through the seam.

I've had my best Zincolns (including proofs) in Airtites for a long time, they look exactly the same as the day I put them in. With proper storage your Zincolns will not corrode or spot in your lifetime.

My storage levels:

1) Airtite
2) 2x2
3) PVC binder pages (I like them, don't freak out about PVC here)
4) 3 ring binder
5) Heavy gauge poly ziplock bag (the whole binder goes in) with desiccant packs
6) Water tight storage tub

Here's an example of a binder page:



Here's a binder example - a lot crammed in there!

Very cool 'fat' binder--good stuff in there.