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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;BadThad, post: 1171486, member: 17261&quot;]For the early memorial cents the obverse wear characteristics are very similar. The jaw, cheek and top of head typically show wear first. You can also see wear on the lapel.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The reverse shows wear firstly on the cornice, the little pillars at the start of the steps and the steps themselves. You have to VERY careful using the steps because this part of the design is often weak and dies tended to show their age here. Ditto with the cornice, it&#039;s the highest point on the reverse, but also tends to show weakness in the strike and die wear.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The TPG&#039;s are too easy on memorials IMO. I&#039;ve seen many slabbed examples in MS holders when the coin is clearly AU. They also tend to grade them a couple of points higher than wheat cents.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>You are off to a good start! Buying a complete BU set on ebay is what I usually recommend for newbies. Close examination will reveal to you all of the problems that plague the series. Mid- and late- die states, poor strikes, hits and spots are the norm. The vast majority are MS-63 and less....with most falling into the 61/62 category. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I&#039;ve been working on a premium LMC set for years now. It&#039;s the hardest challenge in collecting I&#039;ve taken on! I&#039;ve cracked open literally hundreds of rolls looking for primo coins. I venture to guess I&#039;ve rejected some 99+% of the coins I&#039;ve looked at. I also pay VERY close attention to any dealers I see selling LMC&#039;s because most dealers don&#039;t want to mess with them. The bonus is they are so under-priced that you can snag some awesome deals when you find a supreme example...usually just a couple bucks or less.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>My advice to you....take a DEEP breath and take your time. If you want a premium LMC set, it&#039;s going to take you years of hard work. And don&#039;t think you can buy high-grade slabbed examples because the TPG&#039;s simply don&#039;t grade them right IMO. They tend to ignore things like die state and strike in favor of glowing luster. A serious collector will seek well-struck coins which are tough, tough finds in many years. And, usually, when you do find a well-struck coin, it will have spots and hits. LOL[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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