If you have been collecting coins for more than five minutes, you already know the name: 1909-S VDB. It is the most famous coin in American numismatics, the first coin most collectors learn to chase, and one of the most counterfeited coins in the history of the hobby. At Clemson Coins, Currency, Bullion and Jewelry in Pendleton, SC, we see 1909-S VDB cents come through our door regularly. Some are genuine. Many are not. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about this legendary coin.
The Birth of the Lincoln Cent
The Lincoln cent was introduced in 1909 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. It was the first U.S. coin to feature a real historical figure rather than a symbolic representation of Liberty. The design was created by Lithuanian-born sculptor Victor David Brenner, who had previously created a portrait medallion of Lincoln that caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt was deeply involved in the redesign of American coinage during his presidency. He had already commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign the gold coinage, and he wanted the cent to reflect the same artistic ambition. Brenner's design was selected, and the Lincoln cent entered production in 1909.
The obverse features a right-facing portrait of Lincoln with the inscriptions IN GOD WE TRUST above, LIBERTY to the left, and the date below. The reverse features two wheat stalks framing the denomination ONE CENT and the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
The VDB Controversy
Victor David Brenner placed his initials, V.D.B., prominently on the reverse of the coin at the bottom center, between the wheat stalks. The Mint approved the design and production began. Philadelphia struck 27,995,000 cents with the VDB initials. San Francisco struck 484,000.
Then the controversy erupted.
Critics in the press and in Congress objected to the prominent placement of the designer's initials, calling it self-promotion at public expense. The debate was fierce and very public. Within days of the coin's release, the Mint ordered production halted and the initials removed. The Philadelphia Mint quickly resumed production without the initials, eventually striking over 72 million plain Lincoln cents in 1909. San Francisco, however, never resumed production of the 1909-S cent after the initials were removed. The 484,000 coins struck with the VDB initials were all that San Francisco would produce for that year.
The result was a coin with a mintage so low that it was recognized as a rarity almost immediately. Collectors who understood what had happened rushed to set aside examples. The 1909-S VDB was a key date from the moment it was born.
Why 484,000 Is Not as Many as It Sounds
A mintage of 484,000 sounds like a lot until you put it in context. The Philadelphia VDB issue had a mintage of nearly 28 million. Common Lincoln cents from the 1940s and 1950s were struck in the hundreds of millions. And of those 484,000 San Francisco VDB cents, a significant number were spent in circulation over the following decades. Many were lost, damaged, cleaned, or destroyed. The number of surviving examples in collectible condition is a small fraction of the original mintage.
Today, PCGS and NGC combined have certified about 40,000 examples of the 1909-S VDB, but the vast majority of those are in circulated grades. Mint State examples are genuinely scarce, and high-grade Mint State examples are rare by any standard.
Reading the Coin: Obverse and Reverse
Obverse: Lincoln faces right. The portrait is detailed and naturalistic, showing Lincoln in profile with his characteristic beard and strong jaw. LIBERTY appears to the left of the portrait. IN GOD WE TRUST arcs above. The date 1909 appears at the bottom. On San Francisco issues, the S mint mark appears below the date.
Reverse: Two wheat stalks frame the central design. ONE CENT appears in large letters in the center, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA above and E PLURIBUS UNUM below. On the VDB issues, the initials V.D.B. appear at the very bottom center of the reverse, between the tips of the wheat stalks. This is the detail that makes the coin what it is.
The comparison photo below is one of the most important images any 1909-S VDB collector can study. The top image shows an altered VDB that has been added to a genuine 1909-S cent after the fact. The bottom image shows a genuine VDB as struck by the San Francisco Mint in 1909. The differences are unmistakable once you know what to look for.
The Outright Fake
Some 1909-S VDB cents are cast or struck from dies made to replicate the coin. These are often lower quality and easier to detect, but sophisticated examples exist.
How to spot it: Weight and diameter are your first checks. A genuine Lincoln cent weighs 3.11 grams and measures 19mm in diameter. Cast fakes often have slightly different weights and may show casting seams or pitting under magnification. The overall sharpness of the design will typically be inferior to a genuine struck coin.
The Best Protection: Third-Party Certification
The single most reliable way to authenticate a 1909-S VDB is to buy one that has been certified by PCGS or NGC. Both services have examined hundreds of thousands of Lincoln cents and their experts can detect even sophisticated alterations. If you are spending serious money on a 1909-S VDB, buy certified. If you already own one that is not certified, bring it to us and we can advise you on whether certification makes sense.
Grading the 1909-S VDB
Lincoln cents are graded on the standard Sheldon scale from Poor (P-1) through Perfect Mint State (MS-70). Here is what to look for at each level.
Good (G-4 to G-6): The design is visible but heavily worn. Lincoln's portrait is flat with little detail. The wheat stalks are outlined but the inner details are gone. The date, mint mark, and VDB initials are all readable. This is the most common grade for circulated examples.
Very Good (VG-8 to VG-10): More detail visible in Lincoln's portrait. The hair above the ear begins to show. The wheat stalks show more definition.
Fine (F-12 to F-15): Moderate wear. Lincoln's cheekbone and jaw are visible. The wheat stalks show clear separation of the individual grains.
Very Fine (VF-20 to VF-35): Light to moderate wear on the high points. Lincoln's hair shows good detail. The wheat stalks are sharp with only slight wear on the highest points.
Extremely Fine (EF-40 to EF-45): Light wear on the very highest points only. Most of the original detail is sharp and clear.
About Uncirculated (AU-50 to AU-58): Slight wear on Lincoln's cheek and the tops of the wheat stalks. Significant original luster remaining. AU-58 examples can be difficult to distinguish from Mint State without careful examination.
Mint State (MS-60 and above): No wear. Graded on the quality of the strike, luster, and surface preservation. MS-63 and above are genuinely scarce. MS-65 and above are rare. MS-67 examples are among the finest known and command extraordinary premiums.
Key Grading Points
The high points to examine on the obverse are Lincoln's cheek and the hair above and behind his ear. On the reverse, the wheat stalks are the first place to show wear, particularly the tips of the individual grains at the top of each stalk.
Strike quality matters on this issue. Some 1909-S VDB cents are weakly struck, particularly in the hair detail above Lincoln's ear and in the wheat grain detail on the reverse. A sharply struck example commands a premium over a weakly struck coin of the same grade.
What Is a 1909-S VDB Worth?
Values vary significantly by grade. Here are approximate retail values for BN (Brown) as of June 2026. Red Brown (RB) and Red (R) prices are significantly higher. These are retail prices; what a dealer pays will be less, but at Clemson Coins, Currency, Bullion and Jewelry, we pay more than anyone else in Upstate South Carolina.
Good (G-4): $600 to $900
Very Good (VG-8): $900 to $1,100
Fine (F-12): $1,000 to $1,200
Very Fine (VF-20): $1,200 to $1,300
Extremely Fine (EF-40): $1,400 to $1,600
About Uncirculated (AU-50): $1,600 to $2,000
About Uncirculated (AU-58): $2,000 to $2,400
Mint State (MS-63): $2,500 to $3,500
Mint State (MS-64): $3,500 to $4,000
Mint State (MS-65): $4,000 to $5,000
Mint State (MS-66): $5,500 to $8,000
Mint State (MS-67): $20,000 and up
These values are for problem-free, original-surface examples. Cleaned, polished, or damaged coins are worth significantly less. A coin that has been harshly cleaned and then retoned artificially can fool the eye but will not fool an experienced dealer or a third-party grading service.
Red, Red-Brown, and Brown: Color Designations
Copper coins receive color designations that significantly affect value. A 1909-S VDB in Mint State will be designated as one of three colors:
Red (RD): The coin retains 95% or more of its original mint red color. These are the most valuable and the most desirable. A genuine Red example of the 1909-S VDB in MS-65 is a spectacular coin.
Red-Brown (RB): The coin retains between 5% and 95% of its original red color, with the remainder having toned to brown. Still attractive and collectible.
Brown (BN): The coin has toned entirely to brown. Still genuine and collectible, but worth less than Red or Red-Brown examples of the same grade.
For circulated coins, color designations are not used. The coin is simply graded on its condition.
The 1909-S VDB in the Lincoln Cent Series
The Lincoln cent series ran from 1909 through 1958 with the Wheat Ears reverse, then transitioned to the Lincoln Memorial reverse in 1959. The Wheat Penny series, as collectors call it, is one of the most popular in American numismatics. It is affordable, completable, and historically rich.
Within the Wheat Penny series, the 1909-S VDB is the undisputed king. But it is not the only key date. Other important dates include:
1909-S (no VDB): The plain 1909-S cent, without the designer's initials, had a mintage of 1,825,000. Still a key date, worth $100 to $500 in circulated grades depending on condition.
1914-D: One of the most underrated key dates in the series. Mintage of 1,193,000. Worth $200 to $2,000+ depending on grade.
1922 Plain (no D): A fascinating variety where the Denver mint mark was accidentally polished off some dies. Worth $500 to $5,000+ depending on grade and the strength of the "plain" designation.
1931-S: Low mintage of 866,000. Worth $75 to $300 in circulated grades.
1955 Doubled Die: Not a key date by mintage, but one of the most dramatic varieties in American coinage. The doubling on the obverse is dramatic and visible to the naked eye.
The 1909-S VDB and the Beginning of Modern Coin Collecting
The 1909-S VDB holds a special place in numismatic history beyond its rarity. It was the coin that taught a generation of American collectors what a key date was. When the coin was pulled from production after just days, newspapers across the country ran stories about it. Ordinary Americans who had never thought about coin collecting suddenly understood that some coins were rarer than others and that rarity had value.
In many ways, the 1909-S VDB created the modern American coin collecting hobby. It demonstrated that coins were not just money but historical artifacts worth preserving. It sparked interest in date and mint mark collecting that continues to this day. Every collector who has ever searched through pocket change looking for a key date owes something to the 1909-S VDB.
Buying a 1909-S VDB: What to Look For
If you are in the market for a 1909-S VDB, here is our advice:
Buy certified. For any coin worth more than a few hundred dollars, third-party certification from PCGS or NGC is essential. The authentication alone is worth the cost of the slab.
Buy original surfaces. A coin with original, undisturbed surfaces is worth far more than a cleaned example of the same grade. Cleaning removes luster, damages the surface, and permanently reduces value. Once a coin is cleaned, it cannot be uncleaned.
Buy the coin, not the holder. A PCGS or NGC holder guarantees authenticity and grade, but it does not guarantee eye appeal. Two coins in the same holder at the same grade can look very different. Buy the one with better strike, better luster, and better overall appearance.
Know the market. Values for key dates fluctuate with the overall coin market. A coin that sold for $1,500 in 2015 may be worth $2,000 today or less. Buy because you love the coin, not because you expect a quick profit.
Selling Your 1909-S VDB in Upstate South Carolina
If you have a 1909-S VDB to sell, whether raw or certified, circulated or Mint State, Clemson Coins, Currency, Bullion and Jewelry pays the most in Upstate South Carolina. We evaluate every coin individually, we know the market, and we never lowball key dates.
We are located at 7611 HWY 76, Pendleton, SC 29670, just minutes from Clemson, Anderson, Greenville and Seneca (see our service areas). Call us at 864-502-0100 before you make the drive. We are happy to discuss your coin over the phone and give you a realistic sense of value.
Clemson Coins, Currency, Bullion and Jewelry. We Pay More, ALWAYS!
7611 HWY 76, Pendleton, SC 29670 · Call 864-502-0100
