1909 V.D.B. is it a proof?

Found this puppy today in an unsearched bag of pennies! Anyone know if it's a proof? It's a woodie, but not sure if it's a proof, it looks very different than my 1909-S V.D.B i had... It's in the album now! Any help???

 

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What makes you think it is a Proof? I don't see any characteristics that would indicate it is a Proof. Does it have a Proof edge?

 

No.

 

The pictures are bad, but there is some green and yellow toning on the reverse in the field to the right of the word cent. And there's a very distinct shine to this coin that i havent seen on any of my other wheaties!

The edge is unusally square and the rim seem seems very flat and well defined... I know the pics are cruddy, and i have a better camera on it's way through the mail, and i dont own a microscope, but that is in the works as well.... So i'm working on picture quality issues, but i think i'm going to submit it to ANACS. Is it worth submitting?

I want it to be a proof, but i'm thinking with only 1,000 or so minted it's a fat chance...

 

sorry not a proof

 

Here is mine. Comparing the rims, I don't think your are sharp and squared off enough. I think yours is a very, very nice business strike.

 

robec my recent pickup looks very similar to yours

 

Thats what i was affraid of, any idea on a grade?

 

Nice coin by the way! Whats the grade on that one?

 

Proof Coins from that era were Matte Proof. The dies were sandblasted so Matte Proof coins have a granular surface, not a mirror finish like other Proof coins.

 

It is a 64BN.

Chris, are you going to have it authenticated?

 

another reason why I think my coins a proof. I was just looking at it for the past 10 minutes under 15x magnification and the rims are very squared and the fields have a distinct look to them.

 

I am yes, the rims are very squared away and it looks different than any of my early date wheaties. What do you think?


if you dont mind me asking bob how much did you pay for that beaut?

 

I traded a PR67 set of Buff nickels for it.. Sometimes I'm glad I did and other times I still wish I had the buffs. Either way, it wasn't cheap.

 

WOW! whats your assessment on the coin bob?

 

The TrueView does show some characteristics that aren't as noticeable in hand. It actually is quite attractive in hand. Phil does tend to saturate the TrueViews as the coin is not quite as colorful also. The trade was made during the MPL price run up, so at the time the prices were fairly even. I'm not sure the case is true today. I haven't been following the prices of PR67 Buffalos, but they do come up quite a bit more often than Proof VDB's. Here are my images.

 

i dont know what i should label this as? should i label it proof while sending it in? It looks identical to yours bob in the aspect of fields, and rims

 

That's a good question. If you label it as proof it will cost more to certify. I think I would call whoever you are sending it to. I wouldn't want to make any mistakes regarding this. I wish you luck.

 

I recently took a challenge upon myself to focus and study vdb's . I recently had my heart skip a beat when I got a raw with 50% square edges and a very granular surface. all too naught.

I do have a question though. what happened to those dies after they struck the those proofs.


The three main diagnostics for identifying a 1909 VDB Matte Proof are as follows:

1) Heavy die polish lines in front of Lincoln's nose on the obverse



2) A single die polish line extending from Lincoln's coat toward the 'R' under 'LIBERTY'




3) A crescent shaped die chip to the right of 'UNUM' on the reverse, (note to self to check every vdb for this mark.

 

My life would be complete if you would sell that one to me!!