The Top 5 Costly Mistakes New Collectors Make: Lessons From a “Lost” 2000 Lincoln Cent Broadstruck Out of Collar (PCGS MS-63 RD)

We all stumble when we start collecting. Some stumbles cost a few dollars. Others haunt a collection for decades. Here’s how to sidestep the classic traps — using one very real sixty-dollar coin as our guide.

Three decades in this hobby have taught me something uncomfortable: the costliest mistakes rarely happen the instant you click “bid.” They happen before the auction ever opens — and, as a recent forum firestorm reminded me, they can strike long after the hammer falls. A collector won a charming little mint error — a 2000 Lincoln Cent broadstruck out of collar, certified PCGS MS-63 RD, for around $60 — then watched his tracking status freeze at “Shipping Label Created” for two agonizing weeks. The coin itself? A perfectly respectable buy. Everything around the coin? A textbook case of rookie pitfalls waiting to pounce.

So let me walk you through the five mistakes I see new collectors make over and over again — using this exact situation as our case study. Some of these will drain your wallet. One of them nearly cost this gentleman his sanity over a sixty-dollar coin. All of them are avoidable.

Mistake #1: Buying Cleaned Coins — The Unforgivable Sin

Why Cleaning Destroys Numismatic Value Permanently

I’ve examined thousands of submissions at shows and shops over the years, and nothing torpedoes numismatic value faster — or more permanently — than a bad cleaning. Natural toning develops gracefully. Bag marks are honest scars of the minting process. But cleaning carves microscopic hairlines into the surface of the metal itself. Those hairlines never heal. And the market punishes them without mercy: a cleaned coin routinely sells for 40–70% less than an original example, and severe cleanings can relegate a piece to “details grade” limbo forever.

The Copper Complication: Why “RD” Matters Here

Copper adds another layer of complexity, and it trips up newcomers constantly. Our subject coin carries the RD (Red) designation, which per PCGS standards means the coin retains at least 95% of its original mint-red luster on both sides. Copper is reactive — left undisturbed, it migrates through RB (Red-Brown) down to BN (Brown). Here’s the trap: an amateur who polishes a dull brown cent to make it “look better” has just destroyed the very originality graders reward most. A cleaned cent cannot legitimately earn an RD designation, because the designation certifies original, undisturbed surfaces. Patina tells a story. Polish erases it.

Actionable takeaway: Before buying any copper, look for:

• Hairlines under angled light — tilt the coin beneath a single lamp source; cleaning scratches radiate outward like a spiderweb
• Unnatural, flat color — original red copper glows with warmth; scrubbed copper looks like a kitchen utensil
• Trusted certification — an RD designation from PCGS or NGC means someone already vetted those surfaces for you
• Suspicious glossiness — “too shiny” is a warning sign, not a selling point

Mistake #2: Overpaying for Common Dates — Even “Special” Ones

Five Billion Cents Can’t Be Wrong

Here’s a number that stops every new collector cold: the Philadelphia Mint struck roughly 5.04 billion Lincoln cents in 2000, and Denver added approximately 8.77 billion more. These rank among the most common circulating coins in American history. Now, does the mint error transform ours into a rare variety? It transforms it into something genuinely interesting — but not scarce. There’s a difference, and your wallet needs to know it.

The Error Premium Reality Check

I’ve watched the mint error market closely since the 1990s, and broadstrikes are what we call “entry-level errors.” When a planchet is struck without the restraining collar that shapes a coin’s rim, the metal spreads outward — our 19.05mm cent emerges noticeably wider and thinner, its design fully struck but softly expanded. They’re dramatic-looking. Historically fascinating. And produced in enough quantity that supply consistently meets demand.

Typical retail values for certified broadstruck cents run roughly:

• Raw, problem-free examples: $10–$25
• Certified MS-60 to MS-63: $25–$60
• Exceptional MS-64 and above with strong eye appeal: $60–$125

Our forum buyer paid about $60 for an MS-63 RD example. That’s fair market — neither a steal nor a rip-off. But I’ve seen newcomers bid these same coins to $150 because they assumed “error” automatically meant “rare.” Set your maximum bid before the auction opens, base it on completed sales data, and walk away emotionally. The next broadstrike will come along. They always do.

Mistake #3: Trusting Bad Holders — Slabs Are Not Gospel

What MS-63 RD Actually Guarantees

A PCGS MS-63 grade tells you the coin is Choice Uncirculated — in practical terms, it left the Mint in mint condition and has stayed remarkably close to it. Full original detail, luster that may be somewhat impaired, scattered contact marks visible to the naked eye. Combined with RD, it confirms the surfaces are substantially original red. What it does not tell you is that the plastic around the coin is authentic — and that’s precisely where beginners get burned.

Counterfeit Holders and the Verification Habit

In my years appraising estate collections, I’ve encountered convincing counterfeit PCGS and NGC holders housing altered or outright fake coins. The slab is a promise, but only if it’s genuine. Every legitimate certification number can be verified free on the grading service’s website — match the coin description, the denomination, and the photos. Reputable auction houses perform this verification themselves before listing, which is exactly why established venues command such fierce buyer loyalty.

And remember: holders themselves can damage coins. Older vinyl and PVC flips leach chemicals that turn copper green and slime-coated. A beautiful coin in a deteriorating holder is a ticking clock. Actionable takeaway: verify every cert number, photograph the serial number before resale, and store any raw copper in inert Mylar — never cheap plastic.

Mistake #4: Falling for Marketing Hype

“MINT ERROR!” Is Not a Retirement Plan

Nothing activates a new collector’s imagination quite like the words “mint error.” I understand the pull completely — errors are tangible accidents of history, physical proof of the moment the machinery hiccupped. But sellers know this too, and the hype machine runs hot. Remember the Wisconsin State Quarter “extra leaf” frenzy of the early 2000s, when ordinary quarters briefly traded at absurd multiples before the market corrected? Buy the coin, not the story.

“If the description needs three exclamation points to justify the price, the price is doing the talking — not the coin.”

Auction Fever and the Sunk-Cost Spiral

Sunday-night internet auctions are engineered for excitement. Bids climb in the final minutes, adrenaline takes over, and suddenly you’ve spent triple your budget to “win.” I’ve counseled dozens of collectors through this spiral. The discipline that separates veterans from victims is simple: research comparable sales beforehand, write your ceiling on paper, and honor it. Long-term collectibility rewards patience far more often than impulse. There is genuine dignity in losing an auction to your own discipline.

Mistake #5: Fumbling the Purchase After the Hammer Falls

Now we arrive at the mistake that inspired this entire discussion — and honestly, it’s the one almost nobody teaches. Winning the coin is only half the transaction. The other half is managing shipment, expectations, and disputes like a professional.

Decoding “USPS Awaiting Item”

When tracking reads “Shipping Label Created — USPS Awaiting Item,” it means a label was printed but the package was never scanned into the postal system. Here’s the part veterans know: high-volume shippers often drop hundreds of packages into bulk bins, and the origin facility frequently skips the initial scan entirely. I know a longtime dealer who lost two packages this way — labeled, dropped off, never scanned — through no fault of his own. His fix?

“Now I stand in line so I can watch the person behind the counter scan my shipments. Burn me once.”

Packages with dead tracking frequently materialize weeks later, delivered intact. Two weeks of silence stings, no question. In postal terms, though, it’s not yet a crisis.

Know the Refund Timeline Before You Panic

Reputable auction houses carry insurance on every shipment and maintain clear lost-package policies — commonly a 30-day waiting period before a refund is issued. I’ve followed multiple documented cases where buyers were refunded after the waiting period, and the “lost” package then arrived two months later, prompting the honest buyer to repay the refund. Patience isn’t just a virtue here; it’s procedure. Contact the house through their proper channels — replying to your order confirmation email works remarkably well — and give the process time to do its job.

Never Do This: Chargebacks, Public Tracking Numbers, and Other Self-Inflicted Wounds

• Don’t file a premature chargeback. Yes, credit card protection exists, but disputing a reputable dealer before exhausting their resolution process can get your account terminated — and burn a relationship worth decades of good service.
• Don’t post tracking numbers publicly. Visible tracking numbers can potentially enable package redirection by bad actors. Share them privately with the shipper only.
• Don’t rely on a single unanswered email. Follow up by phone, then escalate politely through official channels. Persistence paired with courtesy resolves 95% of shipping disputes.
• Do document everything. Screenshots of the listing, payment confirmation, and the full tracking timeline make any eventual claim painless.

The Veteran’s Complete Checklist

1. Verify surfaces before bidding — no cleaning hairlines, honest color, trusted certification
2. Price the coin against completed sales, not hopes — especially for common dates and entry-level errors
3. Authenticate the holder — verify every certification number independently
4. Ignore the hype vocabulary — “rare,” “unique,” and “museum quality” are adjectives, not guarantees
5. Set a hard bid ceiling and honor it under auction pressure
6. Understand tracking limitations — “Awaiting Item” often means “never scanned,” not “never shipped”
7. Learn the seller’s lost-package policy before you need it — typically 30 days to resolution
8. Escalate properly, patiently, and privately

Conclusion: Why This Little Cent Still Matters

Strip away the shipping drama, and you’re left holding a genuinely delightful piece of Americana. A broadstruck cent offers a window straight into the minting process itself — the moment a planchet escaped the collaring die that has defined coin edges since the dawn of milled coinage. For a few dollars above face-value curiosity money, a collector owns a certified example with clean provenance: a permanent record of mechanical imperfection from the zinc-cent transition era, preserved in original red copper that future generations will increasingly envy as these pieces slowly tone toward brown.

But the deeper collectible lesson here isn’t about the coin at all. It’s that great collections aren’t built on spectacular purchases — they’re built on avoided mistakes. The collector who buys original surfaces, pays fair prices, verifies his holders, tunes out the hype, and handles post-auction logistics like a professional will, decade over decade, end up with better coins and more money than the flashier bidder beside him. Sixty dollars and two anxious weeks bought this newcomer an education some collectors never get at any price. That, fellow hobbyists, might be the best bargain in the whole transaction.

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