History of the 1909 Lincoln Cent Oh, what might have been! The following is excerpted from the United States Treasury's Fact Sheet on the History of the Lincoln Cent. I've added underlines and bold italics to emphasize key parts of this excerpt: (Beginning of excerpt) When the Lincoln one-cent coin made its initial appearance in 1909, it marked a radical departure from the accepted styling of United States coins, introducing as it did for the first time a portrait coin in the regular series. A strong feeling had prevailed against using portraits on our coins, but public sentiment stemming from the 100th anniversary celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth proved stronger than the long-standing prejudice. The only person invited to participate in the formulation of the new design was Victor David Brenner. President Theodore Roosevelt was so impressed with the talents of this outstanding sculptor that Brenner was singled out by the President for the commission. The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner executed several years earlier which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt. In addition to the prescribed elements on our coins -- LIBERTY and the date -- the motto In God We Trust appeared for the first time on a coin of this denomination. Of interest also is the fact that the Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1865, authorizing the use of this motto on our coins during Lincoln's tenure in office. A study of three models for the coin's reverse resulted in the approval of a very simple design bearing two wheatheads in memorial style. Between these, in the center of the coin, are the denomination (ONE above CENT) and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, while curving around the upper border is the national motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM, which means "One out of Many." Even though no legislation was required for the new design, approval of the Secretary of the Treasury was necessary to make the change. Franklin MacVeagh gave his approval on July 14, 1909, and not quite three weeks later, on August 2, 1909, the new coin was released to the public. The original model bore Brenner's name Victor David Brenner. Before the coins were issued, however, the initials "V.D.B." were substituted because officials at the United States Mint felt the name was too prominent. After the coin was released, many protested that even the initials were conspicuous and detracted from the design. Because the coin was in great demand, and due to the fact that to make a change would have required halting production, the decision was made to eliminate the initials entirely. They were restored in 1918, and are to be found in minute form on the rim, just under the shoulder of Lincoln. (End of excerpt) So you see, we could need six different 1909 Lincoln Cents to fill our Lincoln Cent collection 1909 VICTOR DAVID BRENNER (no photo - all dies and hubs were destroyed) 1909-S VICTOR DAVID BRENNER (no photo - all dies and hubs were destroyed) 1909 V.D.B. (click to see obverse) coinpage.com photo http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-2505.html 1909-S V.D.B. (click to see obverse): (coinpage.com photo) http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-8010.html 1909: (worldcoingallery.com photo) http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/coine_us.php?image=img4/US-1c09&desc=U.S.A.%20Small%20Cent%20km132%20(1909-1942)%20Lincoln/Wheat%20bronze%20&query=cent%20lincoln%20wheat 1909-S (click to see obverse): (coinpage.com photo) http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-7352.html A funny thing happened at the San Francico Mint when it came time to strike the "S" mint mark onto the obverses of the 1909 Lincoln Cent.. One or two of the employees placed the striking die in a position resulting in the "S" being horizontal. The error was discovered and corrective measures were immediately set in motion to redo the mint mark on the error coins by striking a verticle "S" over the horizontal "S." Another error occurred because some of the coins in the final bin of 1909 Lincoln Cents bore a regular verticle "S." So there are some repunched "S/S" 1909 coins. Some 1909 "D/D" RPM Lincoln Cents are known. No one knows why. 1909-S Over Horizontal S (Lincoln Cent Resource photo): http://www.lincolncentresource.com/RPMS/1909SoverhorizontalSrpm2.html Some numismatic historians believe there was another stage between V.D.B. initials and no initials. It was never recorded because it was only discussed among the mint employees (no artwork was ever submitted nor any hub produced). That stage was to eliminate two of the initials. Rumor and hearsay suggests that the "B." was to stay, but who really knows? If you would like to visit the U.S. Treasury's web site, here's the link: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/lincoln-cent. Proofs of the 1909 V.D.B. (1,194) and 1909 (2,352) Lincoln Cents were struck with a Matte finish. I only located one photo. It is the 1909-V.D.B. Matte proof (photo courtesy of PCGS Library): NOTE: The 1909 V.D.B. Proof has always been the KING of the Proof Lincoln cent series. On March 04, 2010 the highest-graded 1909 V.D.B. Matte Proof Lincoln cent sold for over $200,000. This is to date the highest price ever paid for a regular-issue business strike or proof small cent, including Flying Eagle, Indian Head and Lincoln cents. http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=6229&universeid=313&type=1 Have you ever seen a picture of Victor David Brenner? Here's one courtesy of wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_David_Brenner.jpg Thought you might like knowing... Clinker
Never heard anything about a 1909 D/D Lincoln Cent. Would be really interesting to hear more on this since Denver didn't start striking cents until 1911. Always thought it would have been cool to have a 1909-D VDB Cent though Or even more cool to have a 1909-O VDB Cent!!! Oh well
I'm aware of several DDO and DDR 1909 cent varieties, but I'm pretty sure Clinker was referring to a D/D mintmark since he refers to it as an RPM (repunched mintmark) and also mentions it in the same paragraph as the S/S RPMs. He also made that comment in the 1909-S section of the post and to my knowledge there were no 1909-S doubled dies.
Hi long time member. Thanks for the comments. Sometimes the links get changed after I post them (sorry). I really enjoyed the poem! Clinker
To illini420. Don't know how I missed the obvious (after 3 proofreads). There are no 1909-D/D lLincoln Cents. Thanks for pointing that error out! Also "Thanks" for sharing your Lincoln treasures! Clinker
nice post. cent history is always exciting to read about, especially about 1909. thanks for the post!
I'm sure I'll be corrected if this is wrong, but--I seem to remember reading somewhere that the VDB initial controversy was due more to the director of the mint (Barber?) than to public outcry. To the best of my memory the story goes that the director was insanely jealous of Brenner. He suggested and urged Brenner to place his initials prominately on the reverse and then after Brenner complied the director made wild accusations about Brenner's arrogance in placing his initials so prominately. It was this more than public opinion that caused the initials to be removed. I wish I could remember where I read this, but I have "oldtimers disease"
There were 3 things contributing to the eliminatin of Brenner's initials. 1. Director of the mint was ordered by Roosevelt to hire Brenner (animosity from the beginning). 2. The employees at the mint (behind his back gossip) 3. Public outcry instigated by The Mint Director, designers, etc. Clinker
Thanks for the great thread Clinker, I appreciate learning the background information on one of my favorite US cents. I have always wanted to get one of the 1909 S. V.D.B but from what I have learned just from many great teachers like yourself that it is faked but with knowledge comes safety.
Those S-mint dies with the repunched mintmark were actually created at the Philadelphia Mint, which maintained a die shop monopoly until 1996, when the Denver Mint opened its own die shop. So all mintmarked dies before 1996 were created in Philadelphia. There are a few exceptions to this where mintmarks at the branch mints were for one reason or another added by hand, but the rule holds true. Regarding the VDB vs. Brenner vs. B controversy, it apparently came down to the jealous Mint Engraver, Charles Barber, making the final decision. Per Roger Burdette (Renaissance of American Coinage, volume II, p. 42) Brenner and Barber met on March 4, 1909, at which time Brenner agreed that his "name on the Obverse looks intrusive" and he agrees to "put it in small letters on the reverse near the rim." Burdette writes that "This is the first time Brenner suggests placing his name on the reverse of the coin although [Mint Director Frank A.] Leach had already decided to use initials. There is no record of further objection to this and it appears Barber removed the name and added the three raised initials to the reverse, cutting them by hand into the master die. Not only are the initials slightly askew [note that Barber was at that time 68 years old], byt they are off-center, and unevenly spaced. All three of Brenner's initials were used so his work was clearly differentiated from Barber's lone initial on the silver coins."
Hi richarrb: It's members like you who comment that gives all of us the wherewithall to keep researching for subjects to write about and post... Clinker
