Featured Matte Proof Lincolns: History, Analysis, & Eye Candy

Eight Cents for a Matte Proof Lincoln and a Proof Nickel!! You gotta be kidding!

Matte Proof Lincoln Cents were issued by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, starting in 1909, in a minor set that included a proof Liberty Nickel at a cost of 8 cents plus postage (only 2 cents over face value! WOW.).


The Matte Proof Lincolns were not received very well by collectors of the day since most didn't understand or appreciate the Matte (rather than the Mirror) finish. Because of the lack of collector excitement or demand, the mintages were quite low, with most dates having mintage totals in the 3 to low 4 digits.



In 1912, the cost increased to 12 cents per minor set plus postage. (I wonder if there were complaints about the 50% price increase (4 cents additional) in 1912? HA!). From 1913 to 1916, the minor set included a proof Buffalo Nickel. The short 8 year Matte Proof Lincoln run was ended in late 1916 due to falling collector demand and general disinterest in the series.

Controversy on the Original Mintages

There is much controversy about the official mintage "totals", and some of these original mintage numbers have changed radically over the years. The truth is we are just not 100% sure how many of these were actually minted each year. But we are certain the number was very small. Shown below are various mintage numbers published by various sources over the years. I think that Flynn's numbers might be the most widely accepted today (but still not 100% accepted). Red numbers in the table below, show a total that was later changed, in a subsequent year or reference. So you can see there were only two years free of controversy: 1914 and 1915.



Many Mattes have gone lost or are unaccounted for!

In the table shown below, I did a count of the number of PCGS and NGC slabbed Matte Proof Lincolns, and the total slab count is WAY UNDER the mintage totals. Note that these statistics were compiled in October 2011 on the population of MPLs that have gone through the slabbing process at NGC and PCGS. The Original Mintage numbers in the table below are taken from the 2009 estimates by Flynn. It should also be noted that the PCGS and NGC slab count numbers are very likely too high because many coins were likely submitted multiple times -- so perhaps taking 70% of the slab count gives a better idea on the actual field population. Since PCGS is the blue chip company for slabbing MPLs -- and most of the top rated coins are slabbed by PCGS, the count column highlighted in blue is taken as the key metric (remember to multiply these numbers by 0.7 to get a better idea of the approximate "true" field population of PCGS slabbed MPLs). The far right column gives the "Scarcity Rank" based on PCGS (only) Slab populations.

At the bottom of the table in red are the totals in each category. It's very interesting to note that approximately 18,776 Matte Proof Lincolns rolled off the U.S.Mint's presses during the 8 year run, however today we estimate only 4,502 x 0.7 or roughly 3,150 MPLs are slabbed by either PCGS or NGC or roughtly 15% of the original population. Whoa!!! What an incredible attrition rate! 85% of the total population is MISSING??? Further if you narrow that down to only PCGS slabbed MPLs, the field population drops to 2,943 x 0.7 or roughly 2000 Matte Proof Lincolns existing today in PCGS slabs or roughly 10% of the originally minted population. There are only about 1/2 as many NGC slabbed MPLs as PCGS slabbed. It is clear this series has one of the highest attrition rates (coins that were lost, damaged, misplaced, or spent back into circulation) of almost any series of special/collector issue U.S. Coinage.



A few notes about the statistics. First since this was tabulated back in October 2011, some of the counts shown in the official records are probably slightly higher now. However some perhaps many of the coins were probably double counted due to resubmissions in an attempt to get a higher grade, or from coins crossing from one grading company to another. I am guessing that since Matte Proof Lincolns are so expensive, most are slabbed by one of the top two grading companies, and finding a viable raw Matte Proof Lincoln is becoming a somewhat rare event. This leads me to believe that many Matte Proof Lincolns might have been spent back into circulation due to 2 reasons. First, the Matte finish may have led many heirs of collections NOT to recognize them as proofs (they probably looked more like business strikes to some). I heard of one story from a dealer that bought a Whitman folder of Lincoln cents from an heir to a collector and later found the 1909 through 1916 coins shoved into the folder to be Matte Proofs. Second, the low initial sales price from the mint (and low market prices for many years after) to lead to some collector apathy about these coins. They just were not "prized" in their day.

One last note, the original mintage estimate of the 1909 vdb was increased in recent years to 1194 coins (from 420 coins). However, based purely on the number of PCGS + NGC slabbed 1909 vdb's (which added up to 167 about a year ago), I have to think that the old mintage number shown in the 1980 Redbook of 420 was actually correct (or at least much closer to the truth) than the later higher estimate of 1194. The 1909 vdb is clearly the key to the Matte Proof Lincoln series and should in my opinion probably show the lowest original mintage (and not the 3rd lowest as some more recent references suggest). There is a good reason why a PCGS PR65RB 1909 vdb Matte Proof Lincoln is listed in the PCGS price guide as a $40,000 coin!

The wild color on some Mattes was caused by the original Mint "packaging"!

Many people wonder why some Matte Proof Lincolns have such wild color? This was due primarily to the mint packaging. The original Mint "packaging" consisted of tissue paper, in which the coins were wrapped, and small envelopes. Since the tissue paper used by the Mint had a high sulfur content, it caused, over time, chemical reactions on the surface of the coins that sometimes produced incredibly beautiful color. Because of this, Matte Proof Lincolns have some of the most striking and exquisitely colored examples of almost any series of U.S. Coins. Combined with their extreme rarity, this has lead to some incredibly high prices (well over $200,000 for one exquisite 1909 vdb) to be achieved for high-grade, colorfully-toned MPLs in the marketplace.



Now let's see some beautiful Matte Proof Lincolns!

Here are four colorful Matte Proof Lincolns that I have acquired in the past year. Note that these obverse shots were all taken by Phil Arnold of PCGS TrueView fame. It's interesting but one of the easiest ways to tell a Matte Proof Lincoln from a business strike are the super wide and razor sharp rims. All the photos below show these wide, sharp rims very well -- some look so deep that they almost look like you are on the edge of a swimming pool. Take the plunge!

If you have some MPLs, post some of your own -- or feel free to make comments!

1909 = PCGS PR64RB


1913 = PCGS PR64BN

1914 = PCGS PR66BN

1915 = PCGS PR65BN

 

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Nice write up WL. Very informative and the matte cents are beautiful.

What do you think the cheapest price could be for an example?

 

Hey gbroke, I bought the 1913 for $995. So you can find the occasional nice colorful example in the high 3 digits, but it takes a lot of looking. Doggy MPLs are much easier to find and some can be had for around $500. The 1909 I bought for $1450 cash and a Proof Jefferson (in trade). So getting up into the mid one thousands opens up many more examples to you.

 

Thank you for that. Has the value of matte proofs seen a steady increase over recent years?

 

Very nicely written !

My PCGS PF65 RB

 

gbroke, now is a good time to pick up some lower priced bargains. Prices have plummeted from the peak prices of about 5-6 years ago.

bedford, stunning example !!! love it.

 

"My" 1915 that I sold last month.
PCGS Questionable color

 

i am surprised that one QC'd

 

I am not. Looks like old cleaning and start of retoning to me, but these things are better determined in hand.

 

Yes, due to marketing/promotion. The more recent trend is downward, IMO.

 

Not my coin, but it is for sale on eBay by illini420 (#330825352598). It definitely qualifies as eye candy to me.

 

Very pretty cent, but I bet cent collectors would value it higher if it were not toned. They are weird people who do not place additional value for corrosion, (sorry, I couldn't resist ).

Seriously, its a pretty coin.

 

pretty!

 

Nice write up. I like how they were initially rejected by many collectors, like the modern matte proofs (whoops, I mean satins) from 2005 through 2010. While the satin mintages are higher than the early mattes, they're very low for a modern.

 

Those matte proofs don't have sharp detail! They're blurry...oh wait, that's all my drool on the screen.

 

I wonder if there was a matte proof Indian and Lincoln cent set sold in 1909?

 

Proofs weren’t sold in sets in 1909. You would purchase the coins individually.

I’ve never heard or read anything about a Matte Proof Indian Cent hanving been minted. I think it would be a great looking coin for sure.

Since the Mint obviously had the technology to make brilliant proofs it makes me wonder why the never made any brilliant Proof Lincolns for the 1909-16 years.

 

Great post. I was literally all over the internet yesterday reading up on these.

 

Here are some answers to these questions of comments.

The Proof coins were almost all sold as sets. The cent and nickel were one set; the silver coins were another set; and the gold was a third set. In 1909 there were three varieties of cents, the Indian, 1909-VDB and the 1909 Plain. The Indian Cent was only issued as a Brilliant Proof. To get the three cents, you had to buy three sets. That’s why the mintage for the 1909 Proof nickel is so high.

To the last comment, the mint claimed that the contours of the new coin designs did not lend themselves to the Brilliant Proofing process. Therefore the mint said it could not produce those designs as Brilliant Proofs. When the new designs came on line, they were only issued as Matte Proofs.

By the time the Mercury Dime, Standing Liberty Quarter and Walking Liberty Half Dollar were introduced in 1916, Matte Proof sales were very low. The mint discontinued Proof coin production because of collector disinterest. Therefore virtually no Proof coins were issued for those designs or the Peace Dollar which was introduced in 1921.

Another factor was that the artists of the time did not like the “garish” brilliant Proof surfaces, which they claimed detracted from their artwork. These artists preferred the Matte Proof finish to show off their designs.

 

By sets I was referring to a set of cent, nickel, dime, quarter and half dollar. But I did not know the cent was packaged with the nickel to form a set. Thanks for the information.