Why is 1909S VDB more expensive than 1909S?

I should have put that in quotes! I didn't mean me, personally, but the people who want it more and are happier for having it. I'm quite OK with the three 1909 variations I posted in this thread.

 

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I think I know a possible answer to that...the 1909 is 107 years old...slabbing didn't get real traction until after 1987...when they did get slabbed, the coins were already 75 years old...old pennies turn color, hence very few RD's.
Just a thought.

 

But the VDB's are technically older and both have lots of color. (OK, so they are the same age, but the VDB's were minted first.)

 

I was referring to PCGS survival estimates.

 

OK thanks. I was unaware of those numbers.

 

You managed to make me feel even better about my new coin.

Amazing, though, that the same mint making the same coin under the same conditions in the same year could give such different results.

 

@Earle42 you make many great points here. I'll just add two minor things...

1. For a popular key like 1909S VBD, the population profiles are also skewed by resubmissions, because the financial reward of grading just one point higher is much more than the regrading cost.

2. I realize your discussion about slabbing is aimed at the marketplace as a whole, and not at me. But it raises a good point. I do have several coin dealers I can drive to, but not everyone does. Even so, there is only so much they can stock. I have about all Lincolns in MS, and only six are in slabs. So while raw is my preference, sometimes you just have to resort to online buying in a slab. In this case I pored over the pictures and called the dealer with specific questions about color and luster. Sometimes you have to make the best of all available resources if that's the only way to get what you want.

 

@Insider, this close up is just for you. The blob appears to creep up the side of the O. Is that what you expected to see based on the original close-up? (I know a big splat of obvious dirt when I see it, but this is the gray area where I'm iffy about carbon spots vs. dirt.) It looks like there is a little reflection from the slab just over the left half of the blob.

 

This is what I believe. The coin is covered w/tiny carbon spots. The one you show is the most severe. Carbon spots can creep up the sides of the relief. Debris, spit, etc. can cause the spots. If it were a lump of dirt, I SHOULD HOPE the grading service would have removed it (as at least one TPGS does for free).

Now, the most important thing to consider. A spot is a spot. It does not matter what caused the spot. The irregular outline + the light color in the field and dark color near the relief is classic of corrosion which (like toning) is often seen radiating outward - dark to light.

I stopped collecting expensive "red" copper almost forty years ago when my key Lincolns developed spots. Nevertheless, you have a great looking, genuine, CAC MS-64 red coin!

EDIT: I forgot, it's a 65. I should trade out of it or put it on consignment with a dealer. Tell him you want $X (slightly more than you paid and don't be greedy) and he can keep anything over the agreed amount. There will be a nicer one out there that will go up in value faster. I'll guarantee that the first thing any dealer is going to tell you is it is not a 65 because of the large spot. That's the way some are.

 

I've got a lot to digest here. I won't be giving you a reply that matches the thought you put into yours, until I have taken a proper amount of time to think about it, too. So for now, thanks!

 

Don't worry about it.

Remember, mine is just an opinion. We all have them. We could slab a jellybean with a 1909-S VDB MS-65 Red label + CAC sticker and that's what it would sell for. Many folks buy the slab not the jellybean.