I think the 1909-no VDB Lincoln is underweighted.

MastaHanky

Population of 1909-VDB in MS66 or higher: 1250
Population of 1909-no VDB in MS66 or higher: 360

In MS65, there are over 2200 1909-VDBs vs 577 no-VDBs.

Both coins of have weight of 3.

I personally think the 1909-VDB should be a 2, and the no-VDB should be a 4.

A quick check of eBay for auctions that may have ended in the past 30 days showed 18 VDB cents and 3 no-VDB cents in PCGS holders. I've seen weeks go by without a single no-VDB listed.

Anybody care to weigh (no pun intended)(OK, maybe it was) in?

Keyrock

I looked at it this way:

09 has a mintage of 72,702,618 cents

09 VDB has a mintage of 27,995,000 cents

Based on the mintage numbers I would think it would be the other way around, however, In the Standard Guide to Lincoln cents by Taylor it is stated the 09VDB was only issued for 5 days before mintage was stopped and it is believed that tens of thousands exist in MS condition.

The 09 No VDB then became the standard for the rest of the year. It appears that the 09 no-VDB is a condition rarity at higher MS grades since the coins were not hoarded.

Based on that I would think the 09 VDB should be a 2 (due to the hoarding) and the 09 left as a 3 since it may be a condition rarity in higher MS grades and still had a hefty mintage.

Any Idea on the pops for the coin at NGC?

dpoole

1909-VDB: NGC has graded 2750. In MS66 Red, the pop is 774/64.

1909: NGC has graded 553. In MS66 Red, the pop is 146/5.

The theory of the better preserved 1909-VDB is holding water over at NGC, too!

LincolnCentMan

MastaHanky,

I completely agree with you on the wieghts. The irony is that you can also purchase 66RD's in the no VDB form for barely 10% over what a VDB would cost. Given the pops... you'd think it'd be a lot more than that.

David

Spooly

MastaHanky, I agree also. Nice 1909-S are really hard to find too.

cosmicdebris

It all comes back to supply and demand. There is simply more demand for the VDB type because of the story behind it.