I found this gem today. For anyone that agrees it is a good find, please let me know if you would send it in for grading. This will help me know if it is worth more than the grading process. Thanks.
Definitely a nice find! However it's value is at most about a dollar so it is not worth sending in. Even if it is uncirculated it would get a grade of MS-60 red.
Beautiful obverse (front) but the spot and marks on the reverse (back) will again keep it at the MS-60 red level, worth less than $1 retail.
I'm at .25 cents retail on both of those. Certainly nice keepers, but just put them in a 2x2 coin flip.
All nice 2x2 or album "keepers". Not close to slab-worthy. Slabs are for truly valuable coins, the top in condition and/or rarity. I do think ACE Mike is way low at MS60, but the advice remains the same. In the current market, an MS60 is an extremely UGLY coin, which these are not. Both the 1954 and the 1946 are easy MS63's.
Understand that except for very rare dates, Lincoln cents start becoming worthy of discussion for grading when they might make MS67 or 68, and on a few crummier done years, maybe 66.
Without a locked in white balance on your camera, it's hard to say about this coin's color. I assume this is the same background, but it shows obviously different color. Try turning off automatic white balance.
How would you tell? I don't see any whizzes on it, but I don't know all the marks that would show cleaning.
With you on value...AU58 BR/ NGC lists 18 cents and appreciating, this 1954 is RD so I came to same approx. value...not worth sending in...Spark