two-show progress on my Lincoln set

rmorgan

For what it's worth, I'll share the progress I made on my Lincoln set over the past two weekends: first at a local show, and then two trips to a weekend state-wide show.

as a refresher...I started with the set that has been sitting mostly as-is since I was a teenager in the 70s. Back then I collected from circulation such as paper route money. I do realize that to complete this set I have to buy coins - and the art of seeking out and buying coins is a new experience for me. I'm starting with my Lincoln set, as it seemed the pennies would be the cheaper ones and my mistakes in navigating the seek-and-buy would not be too costly.

Start

then...

after the local show: 15 coins plus 3 duplicates @ about $40

then...

after first day at MOON show: 16 coins @ about $50

then...

after last day of MOON show: 10 coins @ about $80 (plus gift from SwampBoy)

...

So what I have left are four expensive issues. I'm not sure how aggressive I'll be seeking to fill those spots, so it might take a while for me to fully complete this set.

Yes, I could have filled them all from the MOON show if I wanted to spend the money. For now, I'm taking a pause to reflect about what I learned and how I feel about the experiences.

I did make some mistakes: buying duplicates, not coming to the show fully understanding each coin's market-price, in some cases settling for a poorer grade just because I found something I'm missing. With each iteration of working a show I improved my approach. Obviously, it's not black-and-white: for instance... Do I shoot for higher grade coins that are more common and lower grade for coins that escalate quickly as the grade increases? At what grades do I shoot for -- especially when I am completing my boyhood set that started with circulated grades? Do I aim to replace my boyhood coins with better grades that I can easily afford, and if so, how much connection do I loose with my boyhood collection?

I've made progress in my approach to the the reality of buying coins. And in doing so, I've bumped in to the next level of issues and questions for me to work through.

Smudge

Nice going. Collection is coming along nicely.

BG

Looking good.

BuffaloIronTail

@Smudge said:
Nice going. Collection is coming along nicely.

Yep, it sure is. You have to be having a whole lot of fun with this challenge.

You're also getting an education and meeting people who will, for sure help you later.

Pete

Aspie_Rocco

Very cool thread! I like the photo progress and commentary. Makes me want to dig out my old Lincoln partial sets and give it a go.

Smudge

Looks like you are at a crossroads here. The rest you may want slabbed even in low grades. I hit the same issue with a Whitman set of Mercs pulled from junk silver just for fun. Got all but the 16d and even in AG3 I would want it certified. I decided to leave the cardboard plug that says rare there and move on. Now you have some tough decisions to make. The filled book would look great though.

markelman1125

Lincoln’s are cool, 👍 I have a collection similar to that one, I usto collect Lincoln before I went into rare coins
, cool series to begin with. Good luck completing your series!!! 😄

lkenefic

I remember finally finishing this set. I bought a 14D on ebay for decent money... it slabbed at ANACS F15, which I thought was a gift. The last piece was a raw 09SVDB that I bought from my B&M shop. Since I already had ANACS plastic, I sent it there as well. It came back XF40, which is what I thought it would grade. When I went to sell, I made a little more on the 14D, but got hammered on the 09SVDB. I didn't know at the time that at major shows, they're all over the place.

Good luck on finishing. It really is rewarding to complete.

BJandTundra

Did much the same as you by completing my boyhood set as an adult. I kept the condition of the purchased coins consistent with the ones found in circulation. Did not go after the UNC coins at all. The result is an eye pleasing uniform set, just not high end. It was for the accomplishment and not the profit.

mannie gray

@rmorgan
That's the conundrum.
Do you go for high grades in dates that are affordable in high grades, and go circ on the toughies....or do you try to match the set?
I kept my "childhood" set of Lincoln's and started a new one.
Currently I am doing a "woodgrain" set.
Some dates are common with that look; others I have yet to find....
I love the wood grain look.
Many do not.
I am also putting together a RB and BN Memorial set.....along with a lowball set of Memorials.
Yes, I am a glutton for punishment.
That one is quite the challenge!
Try to find a 2002-D in BN.....
The hunt is more fun than the coins, really.
Good luck with your collecting!
What's cool about Lincolns......(what's not cool about them)
is that there are so many niches that you can specialize in and there are so many different levels that will fit any budget or collecting taste or level of interest.
You can go as deep as you want --
You can scratch the topsoil or you can really really dig, and each can be fun and rewarding.
Please keep updating us with your progress.🙂

edited for stupid spell-check quirks

ricko

Very nice progress...and I really like the way you presented it with the before/after pictures. Good luck completing the set.... and take your time, good deals do come along. Will look forward to the completed sets.... Cheers, RickO

Tibor

Very nice set. Slow and steady is a course
to take. Have FUN!!

BuffaloIronTail

It's fun playing with Lincolns. I also grew up with them. I craved those key coins as a teenager.

I've owned 2 1909-S V.D.B. coins (a VF-30 die 3 and still own a PGGS F-15 die 4). I've also owned 7 1914-D's at various times. I've given them away as gifts to family for various reasons. I kept 2 worn examples for myself, (2 AG-3 coins).

It's ingrained in my memory of the "good old days".way back when. I keep buying them now, because now I CAN.

So goes memories.

Are you gonna look at 1922 No D? That's one I never owned.

Pete

GRANDAM

Watch out for altered coins on those last 4 pcs.

The 1909 coin can have an S added and the 1914-D can be faked by scraping part of the last 4 in the date of a 1944-D coin so it looks like a 1914-D. I have heard they sometimes add an S to a 1931 coin as well but have never personally seen this one.

divecchia

@rmorgan I don't have a childhood set like this, but if I did I would try and complete it raw and in similar condition pieces as you did. Now for the expensive coins, I would buy them graded (low grades) to make sure they are legit pieces and not counterfeits and then I would crack them out and pop them into the album to complete the raw set.

In the end, it's your set and you should do it in a manner that makes you happy.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Donato

DMWJR

Looks like a lot of fun! I'm sort of doing a similar thing with a 20th century raw type set in a Capitol Plastics holder. It's "classical coin collecting," lol

rmorgan

@divecchia said:
I don't have a childhood set like this, but if I did I would try and complete it raw and in similar condition pieces as you did.

Thanks. That is my reasoning for this set. The Lincolns were my main coin to collect when I was young and not exposed as much to quarters and halves. And this particular set is meant to be a connection to my youth - completed as an older man. It is something I hope one of my grandsons will want as a remembrance of me instead of my heirs selling it.

Now, I am thinking that when I start to work on my other sets, I will be much more apt to upgrade. And I may eventually return to the wheats and try to build a new set that is a higher grade. Time will tell.

rmorgan

@GRANDAM said:
Watch out for altered coins on those last 4 pcs.

The 1909 coin can have an S added and the 1914-D can be faked by scraping part of the last 4 in the date of a 1944-D coin so it looks like a 1914-D. I

I read that a way to tell the 44 changed to a 14 is to look for vdb off the shoulder - absent in 14, present in 44.

rmorgan

@BuffaloIronTail said:
It's fun playing with Lincolns. I also grew up with them. I craved those key coins as a teenager.

Agree!

Are you gonna look at 1922 No D? That's one I never owned.

For now, I'm not going to search for the rarer varieties, just major issues. I'm just getting back into collecting, and I want to focus on the basics first -- all the Jeffersons, all the Roosevelts, all the Washingtons, maybe same for Kenedys and Eisenhowers. That is enough for a while to keep my attention for quite a while.

messydesk

@rmorgan said:
...
I'm starting with my Lincoln set, as it seemed the pennies would be the cheaper ones and my mistakes in navigating the seek-and-buy would not be too costly.

Good move. Some people say to buy the keys first, but that exposes you to making the biggest mistakes up front.

Yes, I could have filled them all from the MOON show if I wanted to spend the money. For now, I'm taking a pause to reflect about what I learned and how I feel about the experiences.

Another good move. Take your time with the last few, and remember that the journey is every bit as important as the destination. A compromise for buying keys and collecting in an album is to purchase slabbed coins for the 09-S, 09-S VDB, 14-D, and 31-S, and then acquire some fakes to counterstamp and put in the album once you buy the real thing.

thisistheshow

Great post! Great images!!

If I was you, I would remove my childhood coins, but keep them, or leave them, but do the set in a different folder. That way you could make it have a look you want without worrying about matching.

Great job!!!