Most Coveted: 1909-S VDB or 1914-D

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by NewbietoCoins, Jan 14, 2020.

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Which is more coveted?

  1. 1909-S VDB

    18 vote(s)
    78.3%
  2. 1914-D

    5 vote(s)
    21.7%
  1. NewbietoCoins

    NewbietoCoins Well-Known Member

    I have been having a debate with my father-in-law who also collects Lincoln Wheat Cents over the most coveted between the 1909-S VDB and the 1914-D so I wanted to get others input on it.

    Which do you believe is the more coveted in the Lincoln Series between the 1909-S VDB and the 1914-D?
     
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  3. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    Personally, I would vote for option #3 - the 1955 doubled die Lincoln ;-)
     
    Paul M., Kentucky, kazuma78 and 3 others like this.
  4. NewbietoCoins

    NewbietoCoins Well-Known Member

    I like that coin...but error coins and doubled dies don't get me excited. Not to say I wouldn't have one if given to me! Lol
     
    Sunflower_Coins likes this.
  5. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    Quick! Edit your poll!
     
    Kentucky, micbraun and NewbietoCoins like this.
  6. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Me, too! ~ Chris
     
    Kentucky and NewbietoCoins like this.
  7. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    I'm not aware of any songs composed to the glory of the 1914-D.

    1909-svdb-record.jpg
     
  8. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    It depends on how you define it:

    1. If you were to ask any random collector which one they'd rather have, I'd wager a 1914D that the majority would rather have the 1909S VDB.

    2. If you look at the actual prices of the two, in lower grades (so-called "collector grades"), the 1909S VDB takes a higher price. Once you get to AU, the 1914D starts to command a higher price.

    3. If you want to get a bit more technical, the value is a balance of supply and demand. A "price to population" ratio can give us a good idea of that:

    upload_2020-1-14_18-27-13.png

    What we see here is that, in lower grades the ratio is fairly similar except in G. Once you get to AU, however, people are willing to pay a much higher ratio for the 1914D. Part of this is due to the different way the coins were saved/stored/circulated (the 1909S VDB is considerably more available in UNC than 1914D).

    Overall, I'd say the sheer publicity of the 1909S VDB outweighs the 1914D. Many, many people, even non-collectors, are familiar with the 09S VDB. Many collectors aren't knowledgeable about the 1914D.

    Interestingly, the 1955 DDO behaves quite similarly to the 09S VDB.
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2020
    Paul M., Chris B and NewbietoCoins like this.
  9. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    The 1909S VDB is better known and considered iconic.
     
    Santinidollar and NewbietoCoins like this.
  10. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    I tend to discount doubled dies when thinking of a complete collection and then I am biased towards the 1909 VDBS because it the only one I don't have and should have purchased 40+ years ago.
     
    NewbietoCoins likes this.
  11. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    It's funny what some consider a "complete" collection. Often times, what we today consider "complete" is dictated by what the Redbook included 50 years ago, or what holes folders had many years ago.
     
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  12. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    Holy Moly. If I collected all the doubled die cents from just 2009 I would need four new Dansco's plus extra pages. I'm waaaay to old to start something like that. ;) Plus I think I'd finally go blind. I've accumulated well over 500 doubled die cents in the past 5 years from searching rolls that I don't think I'll ever have time to attribute. These are all minors from 1998-2006 reverse statue bay. I sold a lot of 100 last year to a collector in Florida who was tickled pink to pay $50.00 for them and attribute them himself. That's probably my best bet is to unload them.
     
    NewbietoCoins likes this.
  13. robec

    robec Junior Member

    There is quite a bit of disparity in population between the two dates. More than twice as many 1909-S VDB's were minted than the 1914-D, yet in grades MS63 and higher the 14-D is more than 8x rarer (according to PCGS Pop report).

    1909-SVDB Grades MS63 and higher

    7,555

    1914-D Grades MS63 and higher

    897
     
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  14. NewbietoCoins

    NewbietoCoins Well-Known Member

    According to PCGS:

    Survival estimate of 1909-S VDB:

    All Grades (BN, RB, RD): 61,000
    MS60 or better (BN, RB, RD): 17,000

    Survival estimate of 1914-D:

    All Grades (BN, RB, RD): 122,500
    MS 60 or better (BN, RB, RD): 4,000

    So it seems, according to the PCGS statistics/estimates, 27.87% of the surviving 1909-S VDB coins are MS-60 or better whereas only 3.27% of the surviving 1914-D are MS60 or better.

    It could be argued that the 1909-S VDB is more "rare" amongst all grades but the 1914-D is more "rare" in high grades. Heck, even at XF, there not a ton of surviving 1914-D.
     
    Mainebill and robec like this.
  15. Evan8

    Evan8 A Little Off Center

    The 1909 S VDB is listed in the Top 100 US Coins. Not sure about the 1914 D.

    Personally, I regard the 09 S VDB more iconic. The first coin all new collectors seem to collect is the wheat cent or atleast find when coin roll hunting. They keep these cents and may eventually buy a Red Book. They look up their wheats and what is the first coin they see? The 09 S VDB. I started collecting at 7 years old. Shortly after is when I got my first Red Book, 2001 edition I think. It was the first coin that really amazed me. A coin that based on its values listed, would be unobtainable to me. 14 years later I bought one and completed my Lincoln set. I hold it in higher regard than my 14 D or my 22 no D.
     
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  16. NewbietoCoins

    NewbietoCoins Well-Known Member

    You are correct. The 1909-S VDB is listed as the #14 coin in the list of "Greatest US Coins" whereas the 1914-D is not on the list.
     
    Evan8 likes this.
  17. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    devil.gif
    That wasn't a bloody option (wanna say 'dummkopf') but can't.... devil.gif
     
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  18. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    NewbietoCoins likes this.
  19. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    I thought the OP would simply add another option... nobody would have noticed :)
     
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  20. Evan8

    Evan8 A Little Off Center

    Arguing semantics really. The 09 S VDB and the 14 D VS the 55 DDO... two that were meant to be, against one that wasnt. (Don't get me wrong, I love those things not intended to exist).

    Of the three, i think the 09 S VDB has the history the others dont. I may not have been alive in 1955 but I was alive in 2004... Seems to me the search for a DDO 1955 cent was very similar to that of the 2004 Wisconsin extra leaf quarters. One just held its value better than the other so far.

    But the 1909 San Francisco mint cent with Victor D. Brenner's initials is quite a piece of history. After all, I would say it is his image of Lincoln, that is the most reproduced piece of art to have ever existed. Billions if not trillions of it have been reproduced for over 100 years, and it all started in August of 1909. Not 1914. Not by mistake in 1955. But plain and simply 1909, 100 years after Abraham Lincoln's birth. The first time a once living person is depicted on a US coin. How is there any dispute?

    The 1909 S VDB or any 1909 Lincoln cent, even with the dislike of Charles Barber, makes it's way into history as the most sought after cent ever. Without it, the 1914 D doesnt exist and nor does the 1955 DDO.

    There is a reason Lincoln still to this day resides on the US cent. That portrait is the most iconic of all US coins. It inspired those like Frank Gasparro. The history and the inspiration of our more modern coins didnt start in 1914 or 1922 or 1955... It started in 1909. In my opinion all 1909 Lincoln cents should be seen as the most iconic of all US coins. Just my opinon of course.
     
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  21. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Okay, you made me go look.

    Taking mintage figures from here, which is only current to 2016... I get a total of just over half a trillion Lincoln cents minted during that interval, and other sources indicate maybe another 25 billion in 2017-2019.

    A bit less than 1/3 of those were minted before 1983. Discounting the steel cents and the relatively few zinc cents minted in 1982, that means we've made twice as many Zincolns in the last 37 years as the number of copper Lincolns made in the preceding 74 years. But this isn't the thread for me to discuss how I feel about that. :rolleyes:
     
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