Purchased a 1909 S VDB Lincoln today from a local coin dealer. Excited to round off my Lincoln collection with this gem. VF condition with light cleaning. Got a decent deal on it. I looked at various guides to see if it is real or not. Everything looks great, but some of you have better eyes from this stuff than me. Pictures are hard to tell, but anything off with this one or does it look real? Thanks.
Given the pictures, it looks like it's probably genuine. Generally, dealers know exactly what they're doing when it comes to the keys....mistakes are costly. Does is have the die chip in the upper loop of the S? Does the MM position match one of the known 4? I agree with the grade VF details. It may seem crazy, but I'd let that coin tone in open air for a couple+ years. The cleaning is harsh but not "OMG" harsh, no signs of the dreaded SOS pad. Set it out bare on a piece of cardboard in a window sill and flip occasionally. It would look a lot better eventually IMO.
Pictures leave a lot to be desired, but I see nothing to say fake. It might go XF details - cleaned and environmental damage (remember the pictures?) Here are the pictures you need;
Looks like mintmark position #2. Was it a good buy? I would have rather bought a Liberty Head Quarter Eagle that is actually rare, given the money, but to each their own. I would say you did pretty well. Due to the prevalence of fakes, I would recommend buying these often-faked key dates in PCGS/NGC/ANACS/ICG slabs. PCGS and NGC are the best companies for resale. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your Lincoln collection. (PS: If I were to recommend another series to collect, I would say the Seated Series would be a good option. I would recommend the Liberty Head gold series as well, but the drawback is the amount of money you'll spend if you collect them. Many coins in this series don't have many coins left in existence, and the prices don't seem to reflect this.)
That's what I came up with...#2 position. Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to take it to a friend who has a microscope to take a look at the die chip. Good tip...that should prove it.
