Several threads on CoinTalk all came together for me and pushed me in a new direction. I was following the thread about finishing a type set, and had been wondering what to do next. I got inspired to get an Intercept Shield album and give that a shot. The next day, I decided that I could fix a big problem the same way. I have been keeping my Jeffersons in an album, but all my Lincolns were in plastic 2x2’s in trays, and the trays in leatherette boxes. Those after 1944 were in bulky plastic pages in 3 ring binders. The extra paraphernalia gobbles up a lot of volume, and I have had coins gathering on my desk waiting for a place to go. But, thinks I, if I move them to a nice protective album, I can leaf through them easily, carry the whole set to another room, store it easily in a bookshelf, and get back loads of room. So I ordered the Lincoln album as well. It arrived a few days ago, and I started filling up the 288 holes. Mostly this was fairly easy. Pick up a 2x2, pry it open with my fingernail, twist the foam insert so the penny dropped onto the album page, and slide it into the hole by pushing the edge with my fingernail. No contact at all and no possible harm. Then another opportunity became obvious. The vast majority of my Lincolns are raw, but some are slabbed. By using unlabeled trays, I could both show duplicates and omit coins from the sequence if they were in a slab. I did not worry about filling all the holes. Now I had the dilemma - an empty hole staring at me and the exact coin sitting in a slab right next to me. I solved this with the fallacy of sunk costs. I already paid for the coin in the slab. Somebody else already absorbed the grading cost. Maybe it was passed on to me, maybe they ate that cost. In either case, since I have never sold a coin, that money is gone and not coming back. I went to the basement and got to work. At bottom right you can see the last one left to do. It’s still a little hard to throw away an MS65 CAC grade on a 1909–S. It’s a lot easier if the cost of grading is more than the coin is worth. It’s easy if it is a Details grade and only the grader can see the issue. It’s a little tougher with a high-end series rarity, with a CAC sticker. But, I’ve already paid for this, so why have it sitting in a holder if that is not how I want it. That, my friends, is somebody else’s idea of what to do with this coin. I paid good money to free myself from that preconception. Here are the first three pages of the album. I hope you get a feel for why I enjoy seeing it this way.
My pennies would not be worth the price of the album...I see now what a nice collection looks like...maybe an old Folgers coffee can is my fate...
I really like the green pages- very handsome! I need to get an Ike album of this brand.... and maybe start a Lincoln set.
....and I just ordered an Ike Dollar album. If I start a Lincoln set I’ll definitely get this brand too. Love the green.
Nice set! Raw and cracking out and into an album is the way to go. Still, the most I've ever cracked has been a $200 - $300 coin for an album. Did you end up cracking the '09-S? In any case, congratulations on the album. It looks Good!
