1909-S 1C VDB MS67 Red PCGS....

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Jan 7, 2016 for:

$94,000.00 Bid Source: Live: Phone bidder

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

1909-S VDB Cent, MS67 Red
Tied for Finest Certified
Exceptional Natural Appeal, Full Strike

1909-S 1C VDB MS67 Red PCGS. The Lincoln cent made its debut on August 2, 1909, and immediately long lines formed where the new coins were offered -- the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints, the Sub-Treasury buildings in Chicago, Boston, New York, and St. Louis, banks, and the Treasury building in Washington, D.C. Eager to acquire examples, collectors and ordinary citizens alike clamored for the new cents. Many were oblivious to the initials of the designer, Victor D. Brenner, centered in small letters on the lower reverse.

That all changed when coinage of the VDB cents was summarily halted a mere two days later, and a public furor ensued. The headline in the New York American newspaper for August 6, 1909, trumpeted:

"Hold On to Lincoln Pennies!
No More 'V.D.B.s' Coined"

"Lay away your Lincoln pennies. They're going to be worth something -- something more than a cent apiece -- after all. Word came from Washington yesterday the Secretary of the Treasury McVeagh [sic] had ordered the minting of the coins to be stopped for the present, while new dies are being made. The initials 'V.D.B.,' standing for Victor D. Brenner, the designer, have been deemed too prominent a feature of the cent pieces and, on the new Lincoln coins -- those to be issued a few days from now -- Mr. Brenner will be represented by a microscopic 'B' concealed in some inconspicuous place. Therefore the V.D.B. coins will soon be regarded as a 'freak' issue, and will be in demand by coin-collectors the world over. And with the lapse of time they will grow more and more valuable."

Indeed, many examples were preserved from the initial mintage. Rare by demand (although relatively available in terms of surviving coins) the 1909-S VDB cents, in particular, have fulfilled the prophecy. They are only "freakishly" rare in the finest Uncirculated grades, such as the present incredible Superb Gem coin.

Dazzling original, pale-orange color with lemon-yellow highlights flows over both sides of this frosty MS67 example. Mint luster is unabated across the surfaces, which appear virtually perfect in both strike and quality. There are no marks to mention, nor more than three or four microscopic, faint freckles to be seen anywhere on the coin.

Certainly, this example is among the finest-known of one of America's most iconic and popular issues -- a serious candidate for the top Registry Set, and a worthy contender of the most discriminating high-grade specialist. Population: 13 in 67 Red, 0 finer (11/15).(Registry values: N7079)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 22B2, PCGS# 2428, Greysheet# 1801)

Weight: 3.11 grams

Metal: 95% Copper, 5% Tin and Zinc

View Certification Details from PCGS