1909 V.D.B. Cent
Take a look a penny in your pocket. Check out Lincoln’s shoulder. See some letters, like "V.D.B."? You should. These are the initials of the designer of the Lincoln obverse, Victor D. Brenner. But his initials did not always occupy this spot.
When the cent was first minted in 1909, Brenner was honored with his initials appearing on the reverse. A very small "V.D.B." was raised up just above the rim on the bottom of the
wheat ear design (1909-1958). However, Brenner’s monogram was a problem for the mint. First, it wore too easily, and second, it was in a position to cause problems with dies. The letters’ narrowness and proximity to the rim was too much for the equipment to handle without making errors. The metal just wouldn’t expand into the "V.D.B." Because of this, the letters were removed from the coin later that year.No need to worry, though, because the initials were re-added in 1918 in the current shoulder position. They are now engraved into the coin instead of the die. Consequently, they will last longer and not cause problems. Frank Gasparro designed the Lincoln Memorial reverse (1959-current).
V.D.B. cents from 1909 include the "plain" and "S" varieties. Philadelphia minted 28 million of them. Those are worth $3 in very fine condition and up to $15 uncirculated. Only 484 thousand were minted in San Francisco, and those coins are worth $400 in very good condition through $800 uncirculated. I own only one 1909 V.D.B. cent.
-Gee
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