Actually the fact those initials were not on the obverse from 1909 to 1918 is very helpful. I have seen some very good fake 1914d's that are easily spotted by the initials on the shoulder. Some were so good that without this clue I would have had to try to look up the dies to spot the fake.
Absolutely true! And the 1909 VDBs and S-VDBs have many interesting peculiarities that help diagnose genuine specimens from those that "emulate truthiness."
