1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 484,000 made
- Mintage
- 484,000
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
- Weight
- 3.11 g
- Diameter
- 19.05 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1909-S is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
The 1909-S VDB is the most famous key date in American coin collecting: only 484,000 were struck before the designer's initials were removed.
Quick answers
- Is the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent rare?
- Yes. Only 484,000 were made, the lowest of any regular Lincoln Wheat Cent.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent?
- On the obverse, directly below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1909 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no San Francisco issue had a smaller mintage than the 1909-S.
- How many 1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent coins were made?
- 484,000.
What to check on your 1909-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1909-S (1.8 million made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof (1,194 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the parallel lines in the wheat stalks, Lincoln's cheek and jaw, plus the hair above the ear. Uncirculated cents are also graded by color (RD, RB, BN) and full red coins are worth multiples of brown ones.
Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1909-S
1909 was the first year of the Lincoln Wheat Cent. San Francisco struck 484,000 of them. In 1909 the figure was 1.8 million.
The other mints made far more that year: 1909 alone came to 73 million, roughly 150 for every 1909-S VDB. If you're checking a pile of 1909 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1931-S (866,000) and the 1914-D (1,193,000).
Of the 44 Lincoln Wheat Cents San Francisco struck between 1909 and 1955, this is the scarcest. No Lincoln Wheat Cent of the 1900s had a smaller run.
It also marks a change of metal: 1909 is the first year of the Lincoln Wheat Cent in 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze), which lasted until 1958.
VDB, new branch mints and wartime demand (1909 to 1917)
Victor David Brenner's Lincoln cent was released on August 2, 1909, the centennial year of Lincoln's birth. Within days the Mint removed his initials, VDB, from the reverse after complaints that they were too prominent. San Francisco struck only 484,000 cents with the initials, creating the 1909-S VDB, the most famous key in the series. The 1909-S without initials is also scarce at 1.8 million.
Denver began striking cents in 1911. The 1914-D, with 1.2 million made, is another key and is often counterfeited by altering the date or adding a mint mark. Matte proofs were made from 1909 to 1916. Demand rose sharply with World War I. Output in 1917 passed 196 million in Philadelphia, a year that also includes a doubled die obverse. Survivors from this era are usually brown and worn, with full red coins scarce for the branch mints.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1909
The Lincoln cent replaced the Indian Head cent to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Designer Victor David Brenner's initials V.D.B. on the reverse were removed within days after complaints. The New Orleans Mint struck its last coins that year.
How to recognize it
Abraham Lincoln faces right with IN GOD WE TRUST above, LIBERTY to the left and the date to the right. The mint mark, when there is one, sits below the date. The reverse has two ears of wheat framing ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM across the top. The designer's initials V.D.B. appear on the reverse of some 1909 coins and on Lincoln's shoulder from 1918.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Lincoln Wheat Cent (1909–1958) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 484,000 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze) |
| Weight | 3.11 grams |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Victor David Brenner |
Other 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent | 27,995,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 72,702,618 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof | 1,194 | Proof | – |
| 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof | 2,352 | Proof | – |
| 1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent | 484,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 1,825,000 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: Lincoln cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.