OR can anyone even FIND IT? WHERE IS MR. LINCOLN?

I am just starting to see some of these coins appear with a few stray dealers, banks don't have rolls, U.S. Mint orders are BACKORDERED along with orders Proof and Mint State Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollars (and have been for months!).

Yet I've seen some dealers selling lots of multiple certified coins.

Am I the only one having trouble finding these Lincoln cents (or dollars for that matter)?

Also, is it me, or are the grades and mint marks hard to get?

I am seeing a wide variation in prices, some from PCGS, some NGC, and some from ANACS (still not so sure about ANACS -- I mean I know the ANA worked a deal to develop a policy for the sale of certified coins on eBay to consider ANACS a grading company that is essentially a player and qualifies as a certified coin) - unlike some of the lesser known Third Party Grading Services (TPGs).

Essentially though, NGC, PCGS, ANACS, NCS were covered, and I think ICG was covered, though not sure how ANACS buying them affects that. However, I digress.

Is anyone getting these coins?

Where are you getting them?

Are you getting them certified or raw? If certified, what sort of grades are you getting, and what's the highest you've seen from NGC and/or PCGS?

I've also got to ask about this First Day of Issue thing and opinions on working to get the designation for it from NGC (or other TPGs).

First of all, the problem is that several local financial institutions are JUST GETTING (this week) the Lincoln Log Cabin/Kentucky Cents. So, that sort squashes any hope for me to submit coins for FDOI pedigree.

How do other folks feel about the importance of such a pedigree?

How do other folks GET the coins (WHERE for that matter), and how many do you submit to NGC to make it worth your while?

Do you ask for a grade? Or do you get that "BU" designation that I've seen (This may be a question I'll pose to NGC in a separate forum like the chat boards, but I wondered if that's something anyone can get or if it's a volume thing, a dealer thing, or what).

I DO know that if you have a BU coin, you an submit it to NGC for reconsideration (I forget NGC's term) essentially to get it assigned a numerical grade. If it already has a FDOI (or other) pedigree (from NGC), it won't lose it. NGC, however, does NOT honor pedigrees from other carriers such as PCGS or ANACS since NGC cannot verify the quality control of the date received and so forth before they put THEIR pedigree on it. I sort of get that, though it's sad because PCGS has some of the same standards. However, on the flip side, it helps maintain NGC's integrity, which is really important, and it's part of what keeps many of us returning to NGC -- and part of what I am sure keeps NGC as the official grading service of the ANA and the PNG -- though that's just MY OPINION, I could be wrong.

Again I got side tracked. I am still VERY CURIOUS about Lincoln Cents -- and would welcome any advice about them.

NOTE: Coin image courtesy of USMINT.gov