1909 V.D.B. Lincoln Cent (No S): Worth, History, and How to Tell It Apart

The 1909 V.D.B. Lincoln Cent is one of the most frequently misidentified coins in American numismatics. Collectors who discover the famous "1909-S VDB" story often assume any 1909 penny with those initials on the reverse is worth hundreds of dollars. In reality, the Philadelphia version — no S mintmark, 27,995,000 struck — is a common first-year coin worth roughly $10 in Good condition and $45 in Mint State-63. The rare one is its San Francisco cousin, the 1909-S VDB, struck in a mintage of only 484,000. Telling them apart comes down to a single detail: the S mintmark below the date.

This guide covers exactly what the Philadelphia 1909 VDB is worth at every grade, how to distinguish it from both the scarce 1909-S VDB and the plain 1909 Philadelphia cent without initials, and why the mintage gap between the two mints is so dramatic.

What it's worth (catalog values by grade)

Values below are pulled from the LuckyCoin catalog for the Philadelphia (no mintmark) V.D.B. coin. The full grade-by-grade chart lives on the 1909 VDB coin page.

Catalog snapshot. Coin markets move — for any transaction, check current dealer pricing and the live grade-by-grade chart.

How to tell it apart from the 1909-S VDB

The single difference between a $10 coin and a $700-plus coin is the S mintmark. On a genuine 1909-S VDB, a small "S" appears on the obverse directly below the date. On the Philadelphia 1909 VDB, that space is blank. Both coins carry the "V.D.B." initials at the bottom of the reverse, centered between the wheat stalks — that feature is not what makes the S version rare.

To check: tilt the coin under a good light source and look at the area just below the "1909" date. If you see a small curved letter, you have the San Francisco coin. If the field there is smooth and empty, you have the Philadelphia coin. See our guide to reading mint marks if you are unsure where to look.

Because the Philadelphia VDB is common and the S VDB commands four-figure prices, the most frequent counterfeit in this series is a genuine Philadelphia 1909 VDB with a fake S mintmark punched in after the fact. See the authentication section below for what to watch for.

How to tell it apart from the 1909 plain (no VDB)

The Mint produced two distinct Philadelphia cents in 1909: the early V.D.B. design (27,995,000 struck) and, after the initials were removed from the dies, the plain 1909 cent without initials (72,702,618 struck). The plain version is even more common. To distinguish them, flip the coin to the reverse and look at the very bottom of the design, between the bases of the two wheat stalks. If the letters "V.D.B." are present, you have the earlier design. If that area is blank, you have the later plain issue.

For reference, the plain 1909 Philadelphia cent is worth $3 in G-4 and $40 in MS-63 — slightly less than the VDB at every grade despite having a higher mintage, likely because the VDB carries the historical cachet of the inaugural design.

Why 27.9 million Philadelphia coins versus 484,000 in San Francisco

The Lincoln cent debuted in August 1909 to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Sculptor Victor David Brenner designed the coin and placed his initials "V.D.B." prominently on the reverse. Philadelphia, as the main production mint, struck the vast majority of the initial run — roughly 27.9 million. San Francisco had only begun production, with about 484,000 coins out the door, when public and press complaints about the oversized designer credit forced Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh to halt production on August 5, 1909 and order the initials removed from the dies. The Philadelphia mint had already distributed far more coins into commerce before the stoppage took effect; San Francisco had distributed far fewer.

The result is the two-coin story collectors know well: the Philadelphia VDB is a common first-year type coin, while the 1909-S VDB became an instant key date. After the initials were removed, both mints continued striking 1909 cents without V.D.B. — Philadelphia added another 72,702,618 coins, making the plain 1909 Philadelphia cent the most plentiful of all the 1909 issues.

Counterfeit check: the fake-S problem

A genuine Philadelphia 1909 VDB in G-4 is worth $10. A genuine 1909-S VDB in the same grade is worth around $700. That spread makes the Philadelphia coin a target for alteration: a counterfeiter can buy a real 1909 VDB for a few dollars, punch a fake S mintmark below the date, and attempt to pass it off as the scarce issue.

1. Check the mintmark's surface level

A genuine die-struck S mintmark sits as part of the coin's original surface. An added S, punched after striking, typically sits slightly raised above the surrounding field or shows compression marks in the metal around it. Under magnification, the metal flow around a real mintmark integrates smoothly; an added punch disrupts the field texture.

2. Compare the S shape to a known 1909-S

The S mintmark used on 1909 San Francisco coins has a specific profile — open serifs and a particular curve character from that era's mintmark punch. Compare any suspect coin against a known authentic 1909-S VDB or reference photograph. Fake S mintmarks often look too clean, too uniform, or are shaped like a later-era mintmark punch that the counterfeiter had on hand.

3. Get it slabbed for any transaction over a few dollars

If you are buying a raw (unslabbed) coin claimed to be a 1909-S VDB at anywhere near market value, insist on a PCGS or NGC holder. Both grading services have examined thousands of 1909-S VDB coins and routinely identify altered-mintmark specimens, which they will note on the slab label rather than certify as genuine. A raw coin offered at full S-VDB retail is a significant red flag.

Where this coin fits in a Lincoln Wheat Cent collection

For collectors building a complete Lincoln Wheat Cent set, the 1909 VDB Philadelphia is an affordable and satisfying early-date representative of the inaugural design type. At $10–$45 in circulated grades, it is accessible at nearly every budget level. Many collectors pair it with the plain 1909 Philadelphia to show both the original and revised reverse within the same year.

The coin's more expensive relatives — including the 1909-S VDB — are documented in our 1909-S VDB guide. For the full picture of values across the entire series, see the Wheat Penny Value Chart.