Featured The 1909 S VDB

The 1909 S VDB cent is probably one of the most sought after American coins in the numismatics. Think about it; nearly all collectors either got started collecting lincolns or collect lincolns seriously sometime whilst engaged in the hobby.


The problem with this is that there were only 484,000 of these coins minted. Considering the low mintage, the survival rate of this coin was probably fairly high due to the fact it was a first year issue and lincoln was quite a popular figure.
When you combine a great ever growing demand with a finite possibly shrinking supply you can deduce two things. There will be a lot of collectors that never get their 1909 S VDB and there will be a lot of collectors that purchase a fake 1909 S VDB. In a market where the price for even a specimen in good is constantly rising and quickly approaching $1000, it would be far better to be in the first column than in the second. But if you find yourself in the position to purchase a 1909 S VDB, I 1) recommend buying a slabbed coin from a reputable TPG, and 2) know what you are looking for diagnostically on the coin and how to tell the real thing from a fake because even the "experts" get it wrong from time to time.

The first thing to note is to get your self a loupe that is 20X or better just for looking at the mint mark. Because this is the first thing to focus on. The same S mint mark was used on the lincoln cent from 1909 to 1917.


Note the arrow pointing to the die chip inside the upper loop of the S. ALL genuine s vdbs will have this. There is a notch in the upper serif and the mint mark is of an even width at top and bottom, with perfectly parallel serifs. The upper serif is even with the lower curve of the S and the lower serif is even with the upper curve of the S.

There were four obverse dies used to create the 1909 S VDBs.


Looking at the 4 images above you can see the placement of all the mint marks in relation to the date. They all have the same stylized S mint mark as described above. I will not go into great detail about the mint mark locations as the pictures describe it better than I could. This is the best representation I have ever found with regard to the mint mark placements.

Just a note: Die 4 is by and far the most common of all the dies and is the easiest to attribute.

The last diagnostic to key in on is on the reverse of the coin, the V.D.B. It is not recommended to use the periods on the reverse to determine authenticity, because of the fact that some were struck weakly and the periods can not be made out. Rather, the shape of the V, the bottom half of the D and the last two bars in the B should be considered. The V is quite distinct the left side should be uniformly thick from the top to the angle while the right side should narrow noticably starting thick at the top and thinning as it reaches the angle. The angle itself should be sharp. The lower curve of the D should angle slightly upwards on a real specimen as the middle bar of the B should rise from left to right on a slant and the bottom curve of the B should angle slightly upwards.


I hope that this information serves you well when it comes time and you find yourself in the enviable position of purchasing the ever coveted 1909 S VDB.

 

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"Think about it; nearly all collectors either got started collecting lincolns or collect lincolns" "When you combine a great ever growing demand" I thought about it. When the baby boomers who grew up with the Lincoln Cent are liquidating, the next collecting generation will have some other series that they are attached to and the demand will decrease.

 

Given the availability of wheaties even in circulation today, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that wheat hoarding and collecting will continue.

 

Meanwhile, as there are limited edition coins with mintages of 100,000, 25,000, 10,000, etc., this will only decrease the demand for this coin. Those LE coins are about $80-$100 at your nearest coin shop, while this coin is $800-$1500. This will make people believe that they wasted money on their 1909-S VDB coins and that the LE coins should be $10000+.

 

Sounds great, but this is not the way things work. The S-VDB's value is not because of rarity, but because of popularity and perception, and it is as simple as that. If there is not enough interest in your "limited edition" coins to drive up prices, it does not matter what the mintage may be; this alone is not going to make people run out and sell their S-VDB, 16-D Merc, or any other generally over-valued coin. People can believe whatever they wish, but this in no way makes it a reality.

 

I think we are seeing this now. I personally don't think future generations will follow the same path to coin collecting, i.e. starting from pocket change and progressing for two major reasons. First, people use much less cash and have less change. Second, our current coinage are basically tokens, not money. My kids won't even pick up a cent up off the street. I use to work with a guy who would literally throw his cents in the trash, he figured they were not worth dealing with and I honestly don't blame him.

If they don't follow this path, what path will they follow and why will they get interested in coins? I think basically because of their historical value, rarity, or beauty. I believe the future of coin collecting will involve a much smaller group of collectors who are chasing after the highest quality stuff while leaving the common and low quality stuff, i.e. s-vdb, 1877 indian head, 1914 d merc, etc, behind. Like I said, I think we are seeing this now with every dealer report from recent shows talking about how the market for high end coins is going great, but common or low grade stuff just does not move.

 

I started from pocket change. I personally like my dollars and half dollars. But I love cents too. I'm the new generation (14 yrs old). But I follow the same path.

 

Im 35... so i guess im in between the old timers and the young collectors...the way i see it kennedy halfs/ike dollars are the coins guys my age remember from childhood... i feel that when the old timers pass....
Buffalo/Wheatback/merc popularity will pass too... and kennedys/ikes will gain popularity... i sell at the flea market and i cant keep enough silver dollars/halfs in stock

 

Yep... the 1909-S VDB was the one I wanted when I was a kid... but I never got one then. When I was older and started getting back into buying coins, the 1909-S VDB was still near the top of the list.

Here's mine and I still love to check it out when I visit it in the safe deposit box

 

65 RD?

 

Nice piece,I'd say 66 RD myself.congrats!I can understand the scarcity by seeing the mintage #s....

 

This is a great thread, wish we had more posts like this to read. Thanks BQ!

 

Great information! I now know what to look for.

 

The 1909-S V.D.B. that appears in the photo in the opening post is absolutely gorgeous. I love the toning!

 

Appreciate the article. It helped me confirm and give me confidence in the VDBs I was looking at. If was the obverse #4. Eh, common. F-12 for 600 bucks. Methinks I did ok. I'm happy to have the whole set with all the major variation to date. Only took a lifetime...

 

ust...(my Jay sticks)...signed up today and this first thread brings back memories of finding choice coins 50yrs ago while working the cash register in my buddy's moms corner grocery store on the southside of Chicago...unfortunately lost most of collection to poor planning, relative gained access and put back in circulation.

 

Nice thread. The information on the die chip on the S mint mark was new to me. I rule out fakes by looking at the N in United. If it doesn't have the thick part at the V of the N, it is fake and I stop my inspection of the coin.

 

I'll leave the diagnostics to the expert graders at the TPGs.

 

This thread just made Headlines at http://www.coinflation.com/

 

Good for you!! Good luck with your collection