Auction Name: 2026 January 14 - 17 FUN US Coins Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 3045

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/1390*3045

1909-S 1C VDB MS67 Red PCGS. The 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent is something of a mystery coin in MS67 Red. Although plentiful in lower grades, the first-year key becomes genuinely rare in MS67 Red, and none are so much as Plus designated finer. Still, 18 coins are reported in this grade at PCGS and three more at NGC. While rare, these coins should appear on occasion at auction, but there are often years between appearances. Then, sometimes a couple coins show up in close proximity. It seems these top-grade pieces tend to be tightly held, often for years, but only one of them resides a Top 5 PCGS Registry Set. The Hansen Set contains an MS67 Red, but the best coins in the lower-ranked sets are MS66+ Red. This begs the question: Where are the MS67 Reds?

We first handled a 1909-S VDB cent in this top grade in 2005, and during the 20 years since we have seen only 14 other appearances of such coins, including duplicate appearances of a couple pieces. All have been PCGS-certified. The most recent was the Whispering Pines specimen in our 2025 FUN Signature, which realized $99,000. The Whispering Pines Registry still ranks as the all-time finest Basic Set, Circulation strikes, while the Hansen Registry Set, with its MS67 Red coin, is the current finest. The correlation between Set Registry rank and the grades of key date coins cannot be ignored. The present MS67 Red is a fresh example of the Condition Census in our auctions and represents an important opportunity for the advanced collector to begin ascending the PCGS Set Registry ranks.

A sharp strike complements vibrant copper-orange luster with luminous fields and pristine surfaces. One is hard-pressed to locate a flaw, and indeed, this coin is as close to flawless as the 1909-S VDB is known. A finer Registry coin simply does not exist to our knowledge. Listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. PCGS Population: 18 in 67, 0 finer (11/25).(Registry values: N7079)

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