Show us your PCGS certified 1909-S VDB penny!

mr1931S

ALWAYS buy PCGS certified in these. I was pleased that the dealer from whom I acquired the piece seen below had it, a replacement for my previous one which turned out to be a counterfeit, imaged for me. ALWAYS deal with a trusted dealer.

https://www.pcgs.com/cert/44090046

Starting in about 1962, I looked through roll after roll of pennies looking for an example of S VDB for my Whitman folder to no avail. When I decided to buy an S VDB many years later, I decided that the S VDB purchased would be in moderately circulated condition. I imagine that the coin seen above looks like the one I would have found in a roll back in the day.

CoinHoarder

I always wanted a 1909 S VDB, even as a young collector. I acquired mine in June 1992 at my LCS for $500. I bought it raw from my trusted dealer. In 1994, I had it submitted to PCGS. It came back in an OGH and graded MS61 RD. I still have this coin, and have no intention of ever selling it.

1630Boston

willy

A coin that has been on my want list since I was 10 years old. Just picked this one up finally last month.

OAKSTAR

Sorry @mr1874, You gave me an idea.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1081403/show-us-your-anacs-certified-1909-s-vdb-cent#latest

124Spider

Only the most unlikely of dreams when I was a kid (though I did get a 1909 VDB in change in 1970 when I was in college), I realized a couple of years ago that I no longer was a kid, and could buy my simpler dreams.

justindan

Got this one from my dad. His mother gifted it to him as a father's day present in the 70's. She paid $100.

bramn8r

Glen2022

As a kid in the late 50's and early 60's, i too looked for the elusive 09SVDB. Alas, never found one. Still looking.

mr1931S

Sorry @mr1874, You gave me an idea.

A few years ago, I was at a shop where I saw an ANACS certified S VDB in one of their early holders. I liked it but didn't have the moola to make it my own at the time.

7Jaguars

Got this raw at auction in England about 10 years ago, excellent luster and surfaces in hand:
MS64RB

vulcanize

Was a bucket list item ever since starting the hobby four decades ago and finally took a chance and picked it up raw on eBay for $600 a couple of years ago.
Sat inside the Dansco 7100 and finally dropped it off at the Baltimore show with a few other key dates to get it graded and came back as F 12 BN.

Mr_Spud

I somehow ended up with 2 of them

Joe_360

Here you go..

mr1931S

PCGS is the best with all due respect to the rest. The counterfeit S VDB that I refer to in the OP is now being used as a teaching tool for PCGS graders. This is what the dealer who sold me the slabbed counterfeit S VDB tells me. The counterfeit is a really good one that I imagined, if genuine, was a hitherto undiscovered die variety. The replacement piece, the one seen in the OP, I am delighted with. My dealer took care of me. PCGS took care of my dealer. It doesn't get any better than that.

oilers99

I cracked out an XF40 to finish my Lincoln cent album.

Vetter

Here’s mine. VF20

Treashunt

I have to search for mine.

I was at a local pawn shop, back in 1996 and he had a 1909 S in the display.

It looked nice, and I flipped it over.

I thought I saw something, but I wasn't sure.

Anyway we negotiated the price $40.

Later at home I was sure there was something there.

The next ANA, PCGS was busy as all heck, and I was on a tight schedule, so I walked across the street.

Now in the other guy's F-12 1909 S VDB.

marcmoish

@CoinHoarder said:
I always wanted a 1909 S VDB, even as a young collector. I acquired mine in June 1992 at my LCS for $500. I bought it raw from my trusted dealer. In 1994, I had it submitted to PCGS. It came back in an OGH and graded MS61 RD. I still have this coin, and have no intention of ever selling it.

If this was mine, I'd send it for a bean. You might very well get gold, now that would make my day.

nwcoast

Purchased mine raw a handful of years back. It had always been on my bucket list going back to childhood.
Kept in my Dansco for awhile then sent in to our host. I thought it would fetch AUbut it came back a 40.

hfjacinto

I have 2

mr1931S

@nwcoast said:
Purchased mine raw a handful of years back. It had always been on my bucket list going back to childhood.
Kept in my Dansco for awhile then sent in to our host. I thought it would fetch AUbut it came back a 40.

This S VDB is about uncirculated for sure. If this piece were mine and for sale, no way would someone be able to buy it from me for XF money.

mr1931S

David Hall's son once told his dad that he would eat worms for a 1909-S VDB for his penny collection. I think I would have eaten worms for an S VDB too but would ask mom to fry 'em for me first.

JohnnyCache

Eagleguy

Crossed from NGC, MS65 RB

rays

This MS64BN example is part of my registry set, soon to be sold on Great Collections.

mr1931S

@Eagleguy said:
Crossed from NGC, MS65 RB

Your S V.D.B. from PCGS Die #4, my favorite. Same die my piece came from but yours in unworn condition. My S V.D.B. passed through more than a few hands before someone plucked it from circulation. Your S V.D.B. is nice, very nice but to me, my circulated S V.D.B. is beautiful. Maybe if I hold it close to my ear in a quiet room one of these days it will tell me its stories,

ifthevamzarockin

@mr1874 said:
Maybe if I hold it close to my ear in a quiet room one of these days it will tell me its stories,

Here we go again with the "whispering VDB"

mr1931S

Some people will never understand picturesque speech. Let me help. Picture this:

There's three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few that learn by observation. And the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence to find out for themselves.

lkeigwin

GiveMeProof

@lkeigwin said:

What's the grade on this one? It's beauuuuuuuuutiful.

Twobitcollector

lkeigwin

@GiveMeProof said:

@lkeigwin said:

What's the grade on this one? It's beauuuuuuuuutiful.

Thanks. My best one. It graded 65RD about 15 years ago.
Lance.

7Jaguars

Wow, there are 65s and there are 65s. Yours is IMHO the best we have seen pictured on this posting.

divecchia

Here's mine.

Donato

Jmis

MS63 Red

originalisbest

@OAKSTAR said:
Sorry @mr1874, You gave me an idea.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1081403/show-us-your-anacs-certified-1909-s-vdb-cent#latest

I'll check that thread out! My current one is an ANACS piece. My first one ever was also an ANACS piece, cracked it, had it raw for awhile and then had it graded by PCGS before selling it. It was very nice but had a weakish VDB. Since then, my new ANACS example, though lower grade, is also problem-free and has a nice strong VDB visible.

originalisbest

@mr1874 said:

@Eagleguy said:
Crossed from NGC, MS65 RB

Your S V.D.B. from PCGS Die #4, my favorite. Same die my piece came from but yours in unworn condition. My S V.D.B. passed through more than a few hands before someone plucked it from circulation. Your S V.D.B. is nice, very nice but to me, my circulated S V.D.B. is beautiful. Maybe if I hold it close to my ear in a quiet room one of these days it will tell me its stories,

Any particular reason why die #4 is your fave? Apologies if you've said and I missed it.

originalisbest

Love each and every one of these S-VDB's posted. Some will denigrate it as "too common" for a key/expensive date, perhaps, but it is what it is. I love mine and would never part with it, unless trying to improve on it in some way with a better example. Interestingly, my experience has always been, even a doggy, problematic, beat to heck S-VDB will (assuming it's certified as real) always fetch a strong price. No Santa Claus giveaways as a rule for an S-VDB, though I suppose someone sometime has gotten one.

I don't recall the board member here but they found one really sweet, lightly circulated example bought in a box of 100-ish "regular" P-VDBs at auction in a cigar box. SCORE.

originalisbest

@vulcanize said:
Was a bucket list item ever since starting the hobby four decades ago and finally took a chance and picked it up raw on eBay for $600 a couple of years ago.
Sat inside the Dansco 7100 and finally dropped it off at the Baltimore show with a few other key dates to get it graded and came back as F 12 BN.

Risky always to buy it raw! But very glad it worked out fine for you.

robec

mr1931S

If all the business strike wheat pennies ever made were well mixed together and randomly put into 5000 coin bags, one would, on average, find a single example of 1909-S V.D.B. in each 11 bags searched.

Picker1954

mr1874, whatever happened to your whispering VDB with the low, right S that you said was slabbed by PCGS?

ifthevamzarockin

@originalisbest said:
I don't recall the board member here but they found one really sweet, lightly circulated example bought in a box of 100-ish "regular" P-VDBs at auction in a cigar box. SCORE.

I think that might have been @Picker1954

vulcanize

@originalisbest said:

Risky always to buy it raw! But very glad it worked out fine for you.

Thank you.
Yes, very glad it was genuine because I took a gamble with a reputed seller on eBay and as soon as the coin arrived, took it to the expert at the LCS and had him look at it.

Picker1954

@Picker1954 said:
mr1874, whatever happened to your whispering VDB with the low, right S that you said was slabbed by PCGS?

Yep, that was me. As I'm not a collector of Lincolns, I sold it. I think my net profit for that cigar box was around
$2200.

BillJones

Why not break the rules? This one is an NGC graded EF-40. I had it graded over 20 years ago. I bought it circa 1983 with ANACS VF-20 papers. I don't know what system the ANACS graders were using. It's easily an EF-40.

I bought back then to complete a boyhood collection of Lincoln Cents that were in the 1909 to 1940 album.

drwstr123

![](https://us.v-

TPRC

asheland

@robec said:

Beautiful coin and excellent photography as always!