09 S VDB

That's a fair statement, but it can be qualified with the added "...unless you know what you're doing with that issue." The implication that only a TPG can appropriately authenticate any given coin is utterly disrespectful (on their part) to any collector who has invested the time and effort to learn these things for themselves. The guys who authenticate these at PCGS didn't learn how to do it in that building. There are any number of issues I won't risk on my own knowledge, but there are others which I would cheerfully commit a 4-digit number to purely upon my own in-hand inspection. This issue is one of those.

This is what we do in numismatics. We learn.

 

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Agreed completely. Bargains are typically not found in slabs.

 

The mintmark was sooo far out of place.

 

Mint Mark placement on your coin matches obverse #4. Keep in mind if relied upon solely an overlay test such as mine can only provide confirmation a coin is counterfeit. A counterfeit coin can be produced with the proper mint mark placement. But a coin that does not exhibit proper placement (such as the OP's coin) can be determined with a high level of confidence as counterfeit.