My name is Brad Podraza, and I am a high school math
teacher living in the suburbs of Chicago.  I was raised in
Schaumburg, IL and started collecting coins at age 8.  
Both my grandfather and father were coin collectors.  
My father collected coins when he was young searching
through rolls of cents, nickels and dimes trying to put
together sets of Indian’s, Lincoln’s, Merc’s, etc.  My
grandfather became a serious collector when he retired
from ComEd.  I remember searching through brown
paper grocery bags full of 1000’s of Lincoln’s trying to
complete my own Lincoln cent collection.   The bags
must have been peppered with tough dates by my father
and grandfather, because I was eventually able to find
almost every date.  My grandfather gave me a 1909 S
VDB for a birthday present.   During my Junior high,
High school, and College years my Lincoln’s sat in my
bedroom safe.  During College, I collected Star Wars
figures.  I was able to put together a complete set of
loose figures which I still own today.  One of my favorite
figures is my Blue Snaggletooth that I owned since I
was 3 years old.  When I rediscovered coin collecting in
2003, I wanted to complete the set that I started when I
was young.  I knew I needed a 1922 plain, a 1970 Small
Date, and all the Lincoln’s including proofs from 1982
on.  As I was completing my set, my grandfather gave
me his 1922 plain as well as some other variety coins.  
Now that I owned a complete set, my quest for varieties
began.  I spent years researching and obtaining the
varieties I wanted.  The combination of my love for
varieties and the lack of information that I could find on
the web led me to create the Lincoln Cent Resource
(LCR).    The LCR contains not only information about
varieties, but has grown to include all aspects of
collecting Lincoln cents.  Today, I still collect Lincoln’s.  I
am constantly working on upgrading my Wheat Cents, I
am working on Matte Proof Lincoln collection, and I am
still on the lookout for tough varieties.   I also collect
other denominations, but Lincoln’s are my true passion.  
I have over 300 certified coins now which I keep in a
safety deposit box.  I look forward to continued growth
of the LCR and continued interest in the hobby itself.

Enjoy the site!


If you have questions about your coins or would like opinions about a
coin you have please post all inquiries on the
Lincoln Cent Forum.  
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