1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof
Proof struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 1,194 made
- Mintage
- 1,194
- 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 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1909 sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
What would make yours worth more:
- Grade and, for proofs, strong cameo contrast
- 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.
Quick answers
- Is the 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof rare?
- Fairly. The Mint made 1,194 for collectors. Most were kept in their original packaging.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent?
- On the obverse, directly below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark.
- How many 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte proofs were made?
- 1,194.
What to check on your 1909
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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.
Proofs from 1909 were struck one at a time in small numbers and many were later spent or mishandled. Look for hairlines from cleaning, which lower the grade.
The story of the 1909
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 | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Proof |
| Mintage | 1,194 |
| 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.