PCGS grades first 1910 "Phantom" VDB Lincoln Cent

oldcameoproofsguy

Just trying to raise the pulse of the night crew.

I wonder if Stewart Blay is awake?

Obviously, that is a fabrication; the 1910 Phantom VDB is still a numismatic urban legend.

Leiana

Coppernicus

If I stare long enough at my 10-S in 64RB, I begin to see the ghost of the letters V.D.B - offset at about 6:30, just like the 09-S VDB.

I do have to look closely for a long time, with no magnification.....

Ah hah! - The "mirage" VDB.

Mike

RWB

Removal of the initials "VDB" was done by polishing them off the master hub. Master dies were then created, then working hubs, then working dies needed to produce coins. Any failure to completely remove initials from the hub should have been propagated to most, if not all, working dies. Thus, there could be many 1909 cents with a trace of VDB - or there might be none. However, there is also the possibility of minute differences in the hub steel's hardness producing very faint "ghosts" of the initials.

Consider also, that in August 1909 Barber made a new reverse hub in an attempt to reduce the relief of the design and keep the thickness of the new coins within the same range as the old Liberty-head (aka "Indian") cents. Therefore, there are at least two non-VDB reverse hubs for 1909; and any 1910 that shows traces of VDB should be from the first – higher relief – hub made in 1909.

To test this you would need: 1909-VDB, 1909 from the first hub with VDB removed, 1909 from the second hub, 1910 normal with no trace of VDB and 1910 the traces of VDB. The 1909-VDB and 1909 first hub and 1910 traces of VDB should all have the same relief and radius of curvature. The 1909 second hub and 1910 normal should share the same relief and radius but differ form the other three just mentioned.

If anyone comes up with something convincing, let me know and I'll include it in the 1909-1915 Renaissance book now being written.