1909 Lincoln Cent Errors, Varieties, and Values
The 1909 Lincoln cent is a sought after wheat penny known for errors and varieties. Moreover, the values of the 1909 penny vary, but they can be as high as the price of a small house. Furthermore, both mints struck coins with the initials and without the initials.” – Heritage Auctions
1909 Penny Famous for Controversy
Additionally, “the 1909 S version was the first year of the Lincoln coin. Almost immediately upon release the public made complaints about Brenner’s initials (V.D.B.) on the back of the Lincoln cent, because the initials are located under the wheat stalks.”
After the location of the V.D.B. initials attracted public scrutiny, the U.S. Mint responded to the criticism by removing the initials entirely. “Thus the result some 1909 Lincoln cents bear the V.D.B. initials, and others do not.” – the-sun.com
Collectible 1909 Penny Varieties
Additionally, “instead of placing the initials elsewhere with new dies, mint employees simply removed them entirely from die. This produced a new variety of 1909 cents without the V.D.B.
Furthermore, as new dies were being prepared, the designer’s initials on the old dies were removed by crude tooling. 1909 pennies struck by these altered dies are highly sought-after.” – error-ref.com
1909 V.D.B. Struck Through Reverse Error
What caused this coin to catch my eye first, is that the V.D.B. initials appear as a struck through grease error. Moreover, I wouldn’t have noticed the V.D.B. without a microscope, because the initials aren’t as visible to the naked eye.
Was this 1909 V.D.B. penny deliberately struck through from crude tools used to remove the initials? Was it an unintentional error? Additionally, feel free to contact me with your thoughts about it.
1909 Lincoln Cent Mintages
The 1909 cent is extremely valuable not only because of the fame garnered from the controversy surrounding them, but also the low mintage brought on by the controversy. Furthermore, only 484,000 1909-S pennies were produced. However, though that’s a rare variety, it’s not all that makes these Lincoln pennies so valuable.
1909 Lincoln Cent Values
1909 V.D.B cents can be found for sale on Ebay in circulated raw condition at around five dollars and up. The values do vary and depend on the condition of the coin, mintage, and variety. The more unique the coin, then the lesser the population, and the higher the grade, the more valuable the coin!
For instance, a 1909 VDB cent graded MS62 BN, (brown,) sold at auction for $4,830.00. A 1909 VDB penny graded MS68RD, sold at auction for $56,400.00!
Furthermore, there are only four 1909 VDB Lincoln cents without errors, but with a high mint state grade of MS68. The PCGS price guide value is an estimated $57,000 per coin! A 1909 1C Lincoln, graded PR68RD (Proof), sold at auction for $59,800.00.
1909 Lincoln Cent Doubled Die Varieties
The value of the 1909 penny depends not only on the condition of the coin but whether it has a unique error or other anomaly, such as the 1909 doubled die varieties. The 1909 S minted pennies with the initials have the lowest mintage, but pennies of this date can still be extremely rare and valuable regardless of mintage.
Furthermore, this 1909 penny displays moderate to extra thickness showing on the date and Liberty. I compared images to listings available via coppercoins.com first.
Furthermore, doubling exists on the front and back of 1909 Lincoln cent. Therefore it’s important to examine both sides of the coin. Moreover, doubled die listings to compare images to are available via varietyvista.com. Jon Wexler has 1909 doubled die varieties listings with images on doubleddie.com.
1909 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent Values
The auction prices of graded and authenticated 1909 doubled die varieties make for an impressive conversation to start with anyone who likes to talk about money. For instance, a 1909 VDB Lincoln cent DDO FS-1102 graded MS67RD, sold at auction for $24,150.
Furthermore, a1909 VDB 1C Doubled Die Obverse graded MS67RD, sold at auction for $23,000 in 2009. The 1909 VDB 1C DDO FS-1102, graded MS64RB (Red Brown,) once sold at auction for $1,560.00. The opportunities are endless “Looking Through Lincoln Cents!”
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