Matte Proof Lincoln Appreciation Thread

Those in deed were the days. We had a host of great MPL’s displayed by avid collectors then. Many of us hoped it was soon to be the end run of the Lincoln cent with 2009 fast approaching. Prices on MPL’s began to rise significantly. MPL Expert Brian Wagner was always available to give professional advice on the series. I decided to run a weekly list of available MPL’s coming to market that was supported with the input of all the MPL collectors who were involved with the series and discussions then. It was great fun. And you may recall one particular collector named Steve Cohen. He was the very proud owner of the coin below. He had won it on a Teletrade auction in an Old ANACS 63 R&B holder. He had it cross at PCGS as 61 R&B. You could feel his pride of ownership every time he posted and would gladly tell anyone listening that he was the owner of 1909 VDB Matte Proof Lincoln.

Steve is no longer with us and his pride and joy is now owned by me. I have never told this story but I often would send Steve proofs I had upgraded for my registry set. It seemed odd to me that a collector would own a very rare MPL and yet his regular proofs were rather low graded and frankly these were not high-grade specimens I was sending him – maybe PR 66. They were not worth the time to list on eBay so I figured what the heck, help a fellow collector out. We would exchange emails now and then and he told me one day that his family was not interested his collection and sought my opinion on what he should do. I recommended he get Angel Dees to consign them and that way neither he nor his family would have to worry, Andy and Alynne would take of everything.

So in May of 2018 I was driving across country and the phone rang near Tuskegee, Alabama. It was Andy Skarbalack. After some small talk he informed me that he had on consignment Steve Cohens proof collection. Steve had a note requesting I get first offer of refusal on his beloved 1909 VDB MPL. I was shocked, but not nearly as shocked to learn that he had passed. Funny thing is my wife was in the car listening to the conversation. She is not a collector and only hears me chime in about this or that coin, but she knew enough to understand what was being offered – a very rare coin - and told me to accept the offer. So I did.

I had told Steve on many occasions that the coin was worth its old grade ANACS had given – 63 R&B. I told him to crack it out and resubmit it. Well, it was my coin now. And I immediately cracked and resubmitted it and it came back 63 R&B. Sure – its not the most impressive eye appealing example. But Like Steve – I am darn proud to own it and know there are plenty of others who gladly own such a rare coin.

From the archives

1911 1C PR66+ RD PCGS CAC - POP 4/0

Here's a compilation of MPLs I found on CoinFacts, and I think they all have great eye appeal, or at least an interesting look. Some of these may look familiar to certain members... @robec @WingedLiberty1957 and @WaterSport , maybe others who I don't know about.
Note: I've been working on this post since yesterday, so I didn't know that robec would post several of his nice ones in the above post. Also, because this forum doesn't allow the file format I used for this video, I had to upload it to YouTube.
https://youtu.be/JAGWlWR03C0

I specialize in Lincolns and the matte proof group are my favorites. I have the complete set, currently at #15 (Veronica) in the registry (trying to keep up with WaterSport!). I feel the 1916 has the best eye appeal of my group. Unfortunately, the 1909VDB is one of those cases where the TrueView is not representative. I have included my own image through the plastic which is more like how it appears in hand.

I have noticed that for the year 1911, many of the examples have very subdued texture and coloration such as mine shown below even though it is a MS66. Also, for this certification number (25643506) it has an unusual format of TrueView that I am unfamiliar with. Does anyone know when they were produced?

The Kevin Flynn and Carl Waltz books are certainly my primary references for this series.

Flynn reports the production of the 1916 was only ½ that of the 1909VDB. I also assume that the 1909 VDB was probably saved more at the time. Yet the 1916 only commands about 1/6 of the retail value in comparable condition. Any thoughts on why?

PR 64 BN