Greetings, people of coin talk. I am collecting Lincoln cents from circulation. I am wondering what color/patina of coins would be best to collect. For the Wheats obviously they will have to be brown. For the recent ones of course there are a lot of shiny ones available so I should just use those. But what about the coins in the middle? Is it realistic to collect shiny/"red" post-wheat pennies from circulation? I'm thinking not. So would it be best to just have them all brown so they match, even though I have some that are red? And are shinier coins necessarily considered desirable, or does it matter more how free of damage they are? I'm just wondering because even though I've sorted through thousands of pennies, I still haven't made much progress on my collection...
Honestly, it really doesn't much matter because in time they are all going to tone and turn brown. It's just a question of when.
Well, I was never much for matching sets, so I would say collect all colors. I think it is more interesting to have some red, some brown, some toned, and some in different states of RB
Collecting a specific color is not really important. The most important factor is collecting coins with good eye appeal. Some red copper will develop carbon spots which looks really bad. With that been said, look for coins in all ranges of colors. Some of them are nicely toned.
For copper, if you are just going to put them in a folder they will all tone anyway like Doug said. Knowing that, I would pick examples with the best strike and nicest luster, regardless of color today.
Agreeing with everyone else, it doesn't really matter whether they are BN, RB, or RD, since they are going to tone anyway. GO for strike and eye appeal.:smile
As mentioned the best struck and less marred the better. Also any with black or green spots will need to go away. Almost as important as finding nice coins is having a way to keep them as you found them without cleaning them in anyway.
When I roll search I still pull out the shinny red ones. I look for very little to no marks and nice eye appeal on the coins when I pull them. I don't pull out too many from 2000-date(exception of any 2009) but love finding old 60's 70s and 80s still BU red. It might take quite a few $25 boxes, but it's very possible to complete your set from probably 1954-date. I go through about 2 penny boxes a week and you'll pull about 5-9 wheats a box. It's still very easy to find nice examples still in circulation. Happy hunting! If you live near a casino and they still use coins as opposed to paper tickets, this is a great place to get coins! Maybe not so much for Lincoln cents, but I'm telling you. The little old ladies must have coins stashed away from the 50s. Cocktail waitress at one of them said she had gotten a 1912 V Nickel, it was worn, but still. Hanging out in Grandma's purse! The one around me use to give out half dollars, and I'll be dammed if that wasn't where I've seen entire rolls of silver rolls put into poker trays(this casino has since stopped giving out half dollars, and replaced them with a chip). But if you do have a casino with actual coins being played, it might be worth dropping in $10 and hitting cash out, never know whats been hiding out in Grandma's purse! :devil:
For moderns, yes. But for ancients, the most sought after patina you can get is the "hard green" patina. Hard to describe how beautiful this patina can be without it in hand. Simply gorgeous.
