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I have collected these Wreaths for over 20 years, and have a complete set of proofs, including matte & pattern Peace as well as "cherry-picked" currency examples that were selected for strike and presentation. I must say that I do not always agree with the TPG designations on these & have rejected most as not proof. It must be stated that there were few enough of the currency bits struck, so that the relative number of first strikes as a ratio to the total number struck is thus much higher than many issues. Many of these do not pass muster, even if the quality of the proofs is a bit more "specimen" in quality. Prior to about 2008, there were precious few alleged proofs of these Wreaths, and now there are such great numbers; I agree with the assessment that of these new arrivals that the 1932 and 1934s are overrepresented. IMO, of the true proofs that the 1929 and 1931s are perhaps the scarcest. I had two of the former and sold one at Spink 10 or more years ago...

Varieties are great to search for and collect, but if you're not careful, they can start to go on forever, with the merest difference from norm, such as one extra border tooth, counted as a variety. For that reason, I limit myself to Freeman types, and the odd well known Gouby. No disrespect to those who want to go the extra mile. Good luck to them. But just not for me at this precise moment in time. With specific regard to Edward VII (and this is one penny run I've started but not finished), I'd go for all the Freemans and leave it at that. Although I appreciate there are many micro varieties (even in just one year, 1902) as we have seen from the old coin monthly articles that Richard very kindly e mailed to some of us recently.

"Scope creep" is the problem. Where do you draw the line? My thought is to start very basic and then I can expand as little or much as I want as the mood takes me.

I started collecting with my mother in the 1960s , and managed an almost complete year set of bronze and copper back to George lll with nearly all brass and silver of the 20th C . Though not all in great condition, I did manage to find a 1951 penny in circulation, all be it a wee bit bent. After starting to collect again after a break of forty years, I found myself drawn to the pre-decimal copper and bronze pennies , mainly because of the diversity and shear number of varieties to be found, all of which were made accidently , or by trying different designs for there attractiveness or the durability of any one type of die. None of these though, were created by the mint with the sole intention of make money from the public collecting them. The creation of scarce types almost every year now, is deliberate to encourage their removal from circulation. Also the hunt for that elusive undiscovered type is real fun for me. Terry

I have to admit to being a date set collector, but I am old enough to have completed the penny one of each date set from circulation, all bar the 1951 ( I bought one a couple of years ago) It's when you start trying to get all the varieties that the fun starts

This is actually my current specialism, except I also collect varieties. If I was going for dates only and no variety, I'd go for GEF minimum. As I collect varieties, some of which are extremely rare, I've had to settle for near fine in some cases. ETA: No, collecting by date isn't "obsolete" - and even if it were, I'd still collect by date as it's what I like doing. Don't allow your collecting preferences to be influenced by what others tell you, or what you hear and read.

As i have noticed this posted a couple of times i would like to ask you a question Why do you think the coin is worth so much ?. I dont know anything about them but looked at the prices should the coin have been ok.