Pennies tend to get a bad rap. Some people even complain that they are essentially worthless and should be taken out of circulation. It would be rare for someone to bend down and pick up a penny off of the sidewalk. However, among coin collectors, pennies are still cherished. If you are someone who is into collecting coins, then you need to have a good set of pennies for your collection to be considered complete.

This list is going to give you three pennies that you should get to jump start your collection.

1943 Steel Lincoln

This is a great coin to start off with because it has such a cool story behind it. The Lincoln penny was minted for one year in steel because of World War 2. There was a need for copper for wartime manufacturing, so the mint decided to change the Lincoln penny to a steel design. However, there ended up being lots of problems with using steel. Some people mistook the coin for a Roosevelt dime because they had the same color. Also, the coins ended up rusting. So, the design was ended and the original material was brought back.

1959 Lincoln Memorial Design

This is a good coin to add to your collection because it is the first year that the "wheat" design was replaced with the current Lincoln memorial design. When the Lincoln penny was first introduced the reverse of the coin had the phrase "one cent" in large block letters with a large stalk of wheat on either side.

The 1959 coin was changed to commemorate the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth. The reverse depicted the Lincoln memorial in the center of the coin. Below the memorial, the phrase "one cent" was placed, and above the memorial the Latin phrase "E pluribus unum" was placed. The phrase translates to "out of one, many".

Indian Head Penny (Various Years)

No collection would be complete without an Indian head penny. These coins were the in circulation from the mid 1800s until 1909. They marked a big change in the size of the penny. For most of the country's history, one-cent coins were quite large. That all changed when the mint issued a coin called the "flying-eagle." However, the flying eagle one-cent coin was not designed to be used for long term currency, it was a transition coin, or a "pattern coin."

So, the Indian head penny is considered the first "penny sized" coin by many people. It is also a great coin because it has such an iconic design. Also, the great news for new collectors is that you can get a Indian head coin in excellent condition for a reasonable price.

For more information, contact a seller like Penny Pincher Coins & Jewelry.