A few months before receiving his party's nomination for President, Abraham Lincoln summed up his boyhood:

"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."

We've had it drilled into our psyche over and over again beginning in the 1st grade: "Abraham Lincoln was a poor boy who grew up to become America's greatest President." While that fact cannot be forgotten, the context surrounding it largely has.

America is society's greatest experiment. For the first time in the recorded history a country was established under the premise that all men are created equal and born with rights with which no government may interfere; that enterprise should be the true mark of a man – not nobility. The experiment postulated that if we set men free to make their own way in the world, society would flourish.

That such a simple logical concept had been largely untried, ever, by mankind - until the end of the 18th century – seems unbelievable. Perhaps we were afraid. Only seventy-five years into the experiment, America's Civil War almost proved such fears were well founded.

To give you a better feel for "Collecting Lincoln" you might seek out the book authored by Stuart Schneider. It has numerous pictures and values. Until then, here are a few examples of items you might see at auction or even in your own home. My prices are all approximations for items with undeniable integrity and good condition:

• A lock of Lincoln's hair is worth $50,000
• An 1860 campaign button "ferrotype" with a small picture of Lincoln on the front and Hannibal Hamlin in rear is worth $1000.
• A 1918 WWI "Buy Liberty Bonds " war poster profiling Lincoln and one of his famous quotes is worth $200.
• An 1860 campaign coin stamped in Waterbury, CT with a portrait of Lincoln on the head's side and a scene of "The Rail Splitter of the West" one the tail side is worth $125.
• An 1860 Currier & Ives lithograph print picturing Lincoln "without" a beard is worth $700.
• An 1861 Currier & Ives litho of Lincoln "with" a beard is worth $300.
• An 1865 "Stereo View" card featuring two identical Brady photos of Lincoln is worth $2000.
• A late 19th century cigar box label picturing Lincoln is worth $50.
• A 1924 "Lincoln Logs Playthings" set "Typifying the Spirit of America" in original box is worth $300.
• A 1930's brass letter opener with a Lincoln profile handle is worth $30.
• An original (onion skin paper fakes are numerous) "$100,000 Reward" wanted poster for "The Murderer of the late beloved President, Abraham Lincoln" is worth $10,000.
• An 1864 "Autograph Document" appointing an officer to office and signed by Lincoln and his Secretary of War, Edward Stanton is worth $11,000.
• 1909 Centennial postcard picturing and honoring Abe Lincoln is worth $10.
• An uncirculated 1909 S VBD Lincoln Penny is worth $800
• A 2004 Lincoln Penny is worth … well, a penny.

The appeal of antiques and collectibles having to do with Abraham Lincoln is based on more than just the man's incredible accomplishments. There's something about his face. Something about the way he spoke and wrote. Abe Lincoln saved America during her darkest days. He not only proved that the great experiment could succeed by getting elected, he gave his life to make it so.

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