Reached a milestone (and why it's good to build a unique collection)

seanq

This week, for just the second time this year, I was able to cross a coin off my want list, a clipped 1992 Lincoln Cent. This coin is significant to me for a couple of reasons. First, it is the first clip for the date I've ever seen in the 9+ years I've been working on my date set. For whatever reason, this coin is missing from every other significant set I'm aware of, nor have I ever found a record of an example for sale. Second, this coin fills in the only hole I had in the middle of the zinc cent series, my set is now complete by date and mint mark from 1983 through 2001. Here's a small picture of how they all look together in my Gardmaster album (you can also see them closer to actual size here).



I am now missing just seven copper dates and seven zinc dates from the complete set through 2005. Two of the copper coins (1909-P and 1933-D), as well as four of the zinc cents (both 1982 small date varieties, 2004-P and 2005-P) are presently unknown in any collection or sales catalog. I know of one set of '82 zinc large date clips, one Philly and one Denver, in very strong hands (believe me, I've tried to pry them loose). I also have a record of a single 2002-P cent clip selling on eBay in early 2002, but its current where-abouts are unknown.

I also want to use this latest acquisition to point out one of the benefits of building a unique collection like mine. When a really desirable coin like the '92 cent comes up for auction, very few other people will understand the true rarity of the coin, and there won't be much competition from other collectors for it. Show me another collection where you can spend nine years looking for a unique coin, and when you find it at auction, it only costs you $2.40 to acquire it. Plenty of other collectors on this forum have built unusual, affordable, and really impressive collections just by thinkng outside the confines of the Registry, the Red Book, or a Dansco album.

Sean Reynolds

zenny

I see you fortified your top bid, i'm guessing that second bid was for at least $2.80!


congrats on the find and the awesome, unique collection you've got going there.


z

Coindexter

Congratulations on your accomplishment! That set really is impressive to look at. The Gardmaster album was an excellent choice to display it as well. Thanks for sharing your coins and your passion.

Coxe

I am surprised there was enough date on a couple of them to know that was what they were. Just shaved by.

Great accomplishment!

solid

That's a really cool set, Sean!

Good observations on the benefits of specializing in a unique set, too. Good luck on
achieveing 100% completion - it sounds like you'll really need it!

Ken

RobJoyce1921dVAMguy

Sean,
Congrats! I really love hearing about projects outside the mainstream that people take on for the sheer fun of it. It is very satisfying to take on the hunt, especially when you set your sights on something that doesn't break the bank! I love morgan dollars and am captured by die varieties. You can quickly run up what are big bills (to me) buying nice morgans. I became interested in weird things going on for 1921 coins because they were the cheapest and most plentiful dollars out there. I found cool stuff that has fascinated me for years. There's now a small horde of folks playing in the same arena. I'm betting more than one collection of clipped Lincoln Cents gets started from this thread! Very cool, and thanks for sharing.

Rob

RobJoyce1921dVAMguy

PS... on to Jeffersons?

coincollector1989

sweet

USCGCraig

What a cool set. I love seeing these types of sets. It doesn't have to be the highest grade registry set. I'm doing the same with XF45 Barber Halves. Lots of fun and oh so difficult to find.

jdsinva

I like the collection and your perspective.

Gemineye

Quite an accomplishment...................

etexmike

A job well done on the set.

-----------

etexmike

messydesk

Cool set! Is the album PVC free? I've seen others like it that are torture chambers for coins.

RGT

<< <i>Cool set! Is the album PVC free? I've seen others like it that are torture chambers for coins. >>



The old CoinMaster albums were the ones that contained PVC. The GuardMaster albums are basically the same design but are PVC free.

goose3

cool!

I didn't realize that the recent ones were near impossible to find.


why is that?

seanq

Quite a few people have asked / warned me about the album. Most of you are recognizing the album as the old Harco brand, which had inserts made of PVC and which damaged or destroyed many collections. In fact, when I first started my set a local dealer sold me many coins from a similar set he'd started building inthe 1980s, and which had been stored in a Harco album. I wound up passing on several otherwise nice coins because of the PVC damage.

The album I'm using is a modernized version of the Harco style books made by a Canadian company called Gardmaster. The inserts in these albums are made of archive-quality Mylar instead of PVC. they're also perfect for displaying a set like mine, where all of the interesting stuff is happening towards the rim.

Thanks also for all of the positive comments so far.

Sean Reynolds

seanq

<< <i>cool!

I didn't realize that the recent ones were near impossible to find.

why is that? >>



A big part of the reason is that the Mint stopped producing cent planchets in house, instead buying the copper-coated zinc planchets from an outside vendor. That vendor must have much more reliable equipment or better quality control procedures than the Mint. My theory is that the '82s are so rare because this vendor started production on a limited scale, and really wanted to impress the mint with the quality of first few shipments of planchets. Clips from 1983 through 1985 are actually pretty easy to come by, indicating some growing pains as the manufacturing process was scaled up. From 1986 through the late 1980s clips are increasingly harder to find, and eventually in the early 1990s (1990 through 1995) they become almost impossible. Then from 1996 through 1999 or 2000, they again became more available, perhaps indicating some complacency in manufacturing or inspection procedures.

However, beginning in 2001 through the present day, clipped cents are again nearly impossible to locate - my theory (I always have theories ) is that after the various 1999/2000 mules escaped the Mint, quality control was tightened considerably, and more care was taken to segregate and destroy (or now, waffle) any misstruck or misshapen coins. I can count the known examples of clips for every date from 2001 on one hand, sometimes (like the 2003-P) with several fingers remaining.


Sean Reynolds

Heywood

pretty cool set

Pggy backing on yesterdays thread,
Ever thing of doing a clock set from clips?

xbob

Very nice. I admire your focus on your collection!

Shamika

Bravo!

ScarsdaleCoin

Love the set....

If you need any of the other dates....heres how to get em!Link to clipped coins!

Longacre

OffMetal

Aren't clips just FABULOUS to collect?

Here's my last clip purchase Link!!

golddustin

Very refreshing post and great idea for a set. Sounds like it was fun creating and educational along the way - the perfect combination when collecting.

Tarmac

Very interesting.

What else are you working on?

LincolnsRule

That is a truly awesome collection! Congratulations!