Well I don't have a lot of money to start a big collection so I have been coin roll hunting through pennies. I bought my first box the other day and got some nice wheats. But unfortunately pennies aren't much of an investment unless I was lucky enough to come across a key date or two but I won't hold my breath. But it is a nice start to a collection. So I would say right now I am trying to specialize in cents. Is it best to try and fill some kind of specific collection when it comes to cents? (ie try to collect all the wheats from 1909-1958)? That is one of my goals but I do not know how possible that is due to the popularity of wheats and the rarity of key dates...Sorry for all the long questions, I'm a beginner trying to figure out this new hobby!
The best thing you can do jt is to buy some books so you can learn a bit about what you are doing. Secondly, collect what you like, however you like, and not what you think others think you should collect. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Third, there are no rare Lincoln cents, not among business strikes anyway. But some of them can be rather expensive, but that's because expense and rarity often have nothing to do with each other. You need to realize and understand that from the beginning. And lastly, ask questions, lots of questions. The people here LOVE questions, and they are here to help
What I like about coins is that you can collect however you want to collect. Some people hate "year collections" and only go after key dates or errors. World coin collectors like me choose to create a collection that, more than likely, nobody else has ever done. At least in North America. At least that I know. Even though there may be no "rare" Lincolns (thanks for bursting my bubble, GDJMSP), there is still a lot that you can do in collecting them. When I was CRHing boxes of Lincolns from my local bank (one $25 box a week) I found lots of cool stuff: off-center strikes, lots of wheaties, "blob-S" mintmarks, and even an Indian Cent. A guy/gal could read up on Lincolns, decide on what to collect, and go for a collection that is well within his/her means.
