For example, the common Lincoln Cent has six major types: The 1909 Lincoln cent with the designer's initials "V.D.B." prominently displayed; Lincoln cents without the initials but with the wheat stalks on the reverse (sometimes called, "wheaties"); wheat stalks design cents struck on planchets (the blank discs fed into the coin press) made of zinc coated steel (1943); wheat cents struck on planchets made from used WW II bullet cartridges (1944-1946); the Memorial design on the reverse starting in 1959; and Memorial design cents struck on copper-plated zinc planchets starting in 1982.

An interesting "type set" of otherwise "common" Lincoln cents would contain six distinctively different coins--perhaps a surprising assortment for non-collectors as well as collectors who might not have realized all the changes Honest Abe has seen in 90 years. There have been other changes in his coin's appearance, but these are best described as varieties rather than types.

A coin "variety" usually is described as either an unintentional error, such as the famous 1955 and 1972 doubled cents, or a slight intentional change in the coin's design, such as the 1960 Lincoln cents that were struck with either a large or a small date.

Many collectors enjoy the challenge of trying to assemble one coin representing each major design and denomination type produced by the U.S. Mint. Collecting "by type" is an easy way to learn a great deal about numismatics and a superb way to own pieces of American history. It is fascinating to hold a Civil War era two cent piece and realize that the great war between the North and the South led to the inclusion of the words "In God We Trust" on our coinage. Those words first appeared in circulation on two cent pieces back in 1864. A representative example of the two cent coins struck between 1864 and 1873 can be purchased for only $6.50 to $2,250.00 depending on the condition and date of the coin. For just a few dollars, you literally have history you can hold in your hands!

Representative examples of most other U.S. coin types also can be purchased for modest sums. Scarcer coins, in higher grades, cost more, of course. Most collectors who want to assemble a "type set" usually limit the kinds of coins they want to put in the set.

A complete collection of major design types of U.S. copper, nickel, silver, and gold coins will take not only a bit of time to assemble, but also a bit of money. Consider the Saint Gaudens Double Eagles, the $20 denomination gold coins designed by world-famous sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens at the request of President Teddy Roosevelt. Only about 11,000 specimens were struck of the beautiful 1907 $20 gold piece with the date written in Roman numerals. Even a somewhat worn specimen, if you can locate one for sale, probably would carry a price tag of $3,000 or more. However, more common specimens of the lovely Saint Gaudens gold pieces from that same era, with the date written as Arabic numerals, can be purchased for much, much less.

Yet, a colorful type set of U.S. coins does not have to cost the same as tuition to Harvard. Here are some suggestions for having fun while collecting U.S. coins by type. Consider starting with 20th century coins with a denomination of one dollar or less.

The Lincoln cents, mentioned above, are just one type of coin found in pocket change the past 90 years. For example, the very popular "Barber" coins, named after their designer Charles Barber, were first produced in the 19th century, but they continued to be struck well into the 20th century and they remained in circulation for many years after their production halted in 1916. A collection of 20th century five cent pieces would contain: a Barber (or Roman numeral "V") nickel; a Buffalo nickel from l913 showing the Buffalo on a slightly raised mound (a "Type One" Buffalo nickel); any other 1913 or other date Buffalo without the small mound ("Type Two"); and specimens of the Jefferson five cent pieces struck in nickel and in silver (during World War Two.)

Innocent pieces of the 20th century include the Lincoln cents and an example of the Indian Head cents produced between 1900 and 1909. This entire seven piece type set can be purchased for merely a few dollars in circulated condition.

A 20th century type set can also include gold coin denominations. Your own collecting preferences and budget should determine what you want to include.

If you want to turn back the numismatic calendar a bit more, a 19th century type set makes an eye-opening assortment of coins! Most non collectors are not aware the United States produced such interesting denominations as half cents, two cent and three cent pieces, 20 cent coins, or that nickels used to be made of silver and were called "half dimes." Show a few of these odd denomination coins to friend and relatives and they usually are amazed! There also are quite a few major designs of large cents, quarters, half dollars, and dollars to consider for the set.

For those who want to be very ambitious, an 18th century type is not only filled with the adventure of searching for specimens, it can be more costly than trying to purchase one of the 1907 Roman numeral Double Eagles mentioned earlier. A 1793 Chain design large cent is one of the most important coins of the early United States, but even a battered and worn specimen will cost hundreds of dollars--when you can find one available for sale; only about 36,000 were made. Well-circulated examples of the very rare 1796 quarters, a one-year type with a small eagle on the reverse, cost a few thousand dollars each; only about 6,100 of them were produced.

One of the best ways to determine what you want to collect in United States coins is to sit down for awhile with one of the best books in numismatics, "A Guide Book of United States Coins," commonly called the "Red Book" because of its distinctive red cover. The red book has been around since 1947 and an updated version is produced annually. The more than 335 pages of the latest edition are filled with excellent quality photographs ranging from the earliest coins of North America to the most recent issues from the U.S. Mint. Capsule comments about the coins are presented along with listings of approximate retail values of coins in various grades.

Trying to assemble a complete set of specific coins by date and mint mark can be quite rewarding, but collecting representative examples by denomination or century (18th, 19th and/or 20th) just might be more your type.