question about collecting Lincoln cents

[TJ]

i am new to collecting Lincoln cents and wanted to run my idea by you pro's

i thought about buying the Memorial dansco album and fill it from coins from mint & proof sets.

i thought about trying to put a wheat set together in slabs - getting the best grade i can afford.

i know alot of people don't like slabs and i have heard : buy the coin not the slab - and i agree but i have no local shops.probably the biggest city with a coin shop would be Chattanooga Tn. (about 50 miles away) and i may go there once a year.so i will be ordering alot through the mail.

any advice will be appreciated.
TJ

[coop]

I had my coin in an dansco albums. The problem is that they ruined BU cents, making them toned or just darkening them. If I had it to do all over again I would use 2X2's and store them in 20 ct. pocket pages.

[Dick]

TJ,
I agree! The albums, et al tend to tone to some extent. The 2X2 flips are very good. you might "go airless', but IMHO, the flips are the easiest, and most reliable.
I have made small 3-section boxes to store the loose flips, and NOT painted. They hold around 150-200 in each box. The boxes in turn are easilt stacked in the safe the only problem, I might havee to get another safe. Mine is getting full!IOf you want them "stored safely, and not in flips, you can use the round, or square tubes. then you can store two boxes of cents, or other denomination in one larger box. i get 5 to a milk crate.

[TJ]

thanks guys - i really appreciate the heads up about the Dansco albums.no albums for me then.

where have y'all found to be the best place to buy 2x2 flips & the tubes?

i was planning on getting some tubes and seperate the wheat cents by date/mint when i go through my stash.

thanks again,
TJ

[GarryN]

I put 3 sets of statehood quarters in dansco albums and they are starting to tone yellow/ gold/ russet

TJ check mylar 2x2 flips in Amos Press, for example. I use them for all my raw coins.

https://www.amosadvantage.com/scottonline/productgroup.asp?find%5Fcategory=CNFBFL&category=CNFBFL&part%5Fno=&Tab=coin

[coop]

Some flips have PVC in them. They are usually the soft ones and turn the coins green and ruined. The stiffer ones are better, but I like 2 X 2's better.

[eagames]

If you do try it in slabs you might find some bargains in certain grades.

Most of the 1941 to 1958 cents in slabs that graded below 65 red are probably ones someone had graded hoping to get MS 65 or better. Since they aren't worth the slabbing costs below that grade so people try selling them to recoup what they spent. You can pick up most in 63-64 red for less than the slabbing cost.

Still it's not much of a bargain since it's still more than the raw coins would cost.

For that date range 1941-1958 my advice would be to try putting together an unc roll set in tubes. They stay nicer in tubes than flips-folders-slabs. Some of the rolls will cost about what one slabbed cent would cost. Others will cost a lot more.
The memorials 1959-2008 are a fun roll set to make, most of the rolls are less money than one slabbed coin. Also you'll find some varieties while you're at it.

For 1909-1940 a slabbed set is a fun project. It won't be cheap if you want nice grades in red, it would cost an arm & leg. You can do most of the set in MS 60 brown or higher without a huge cost. When you get down to about 20 of the tougher coins you might be stuck lowering to EF or whatever fits the budget. Some coins that aren't too costly in low grades get crazy in unc grades, I'm talking about stuff like the 14s 15s 26s.. Those 3 coins in MS are really tough, tougher than the normal keys 09-s 09-sVDB 14-d 31-s.

Do some thinking before you try slabs, it's a lot of money for plastic that could be used for coins.
You might do something in between like slabs for keys and flips for the rest.

[Dick]

TJ, what these guys say, you can take it to the bank! I personally stay away from slabbed coins. I like 'em raw!

[TJ]

i want to thank everyone for all the help & advice. i really appreciate it.

i believe my Lincoln cent collection will end up being a "mix" of slabbed & flips then.

i am not too hung up on the reds....call me crazy but, i also like the looks of a brown cent too.

thanks again,
TJ