1909 S VDB

[tarsdaddy]

First of all I'm new to Coin People and I would like to introduce myself as a casual collector. I have a friend whose Dad passed away not long ago and he left her quite a large coin collection. Anyway I was helping her go through this collection when we came across this 1909 S VDB in his penny collection. I've never seen one in person before but I told her that I would find out what it might be worth. After searching the net I see that there are many counterfeit varieties out there. So now I'm wondering if it's real or that maybe he was using it to fill a hole.

Take a look at the pictures that I've provided and let me know what you think. As you will notice the last T in Trust in very weakly struck. Well anyway I look forward to hearing from you folks and thanks.

 

The links are the full obverse and reverse of the coin.

 

 

 

 

[syzygy]

First of all I'm new to Coin People and I would like to introduce myself as a casual collector. I have a friend whose Dad passed away not long ago and he left her quite a large coin collection. Anyway I was helping her go through this collection when we came across this 1909 S VDB in his penny collection. I've never seen one in person before but I told her that I would find out what it might be worth. After searching the net I see that there are many counterfeit varieties out there. So now I'm wondering if it's real or that maybe he was using it to fill a hole.

Take a look at the pictures that I've provided and let me know what you think. As you will notice the last T in Trust in very weakly struck. Well anyway I look forward to hearing from you folks and thanks.

 

The links are the full obverse and reverse of the coin.

 

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Hi tarsdaddy and welcome.

 

I am also a casual collector, and yours is an exciting and intriguing find! Of course, one obvious thing to do would be to have it sent for certification and, as you noted forom doing some research on the net, there are a ton of counterfeits out there.

 

I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is NOT a genuine 09-s vdb and that it is probably an 09 vdb with an added mint mark. This is based on:

 

The crossbar of the B in vdb is not slanted as on the genuine, that looks clear to me.

 

There are 4 mintmark placements and only one where the s is low like yours but it looks like the placement relative to the 0 is close but not like the originals - that looks a little off.

 

It's difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like some of the surface area around the mintmark is discontinuous from the surrounding area of the coin - like some work had been done around there.

 

That is my two cents and I definitely could be wayyyy off. I hope some others will give their opinions because I really like this kind of topic. Lost Dutchman was excellent with this stuff - hey LD, you around??

[Finn235]

I'm not an expert, but the coin appears to be genuine. Unless I am mistaken, the most common methods of counterfeiting a 1909-S VDB would be to add an S to a 1909 VDB or add VDB to a regular 1909-S.

 

Compare to a genuine '09-S VDB:

 

 

My main concern would be a fake mint mark, but the clarity and detail of the S does not lead me to believe it is counterfeit. I would certainly have it graded and certified, since that coin could easily be worth upwards of $1,000.

[tarsdaddy]

Hi tarsdaddy and welcome.

 

I am also a casual collector, and yours is an exciting and intriguing find! Of course, one obvious thing to do would be to have it sent for certification and, as you noted forom doing some research on the net, there are a ton of counterfeits out there.

 

I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is NOT a genuine 09-s vdb and that it is probably an 09 vdb with an added mint mark. This is based on:

 

The crossbar of the B in vdb is not slanted as on the genuine, that looks clear to me.

 

There are 4 mintmark placements and only one where the s is low like yours but it looks like the placement relative to the 0 is close but not like the originals - that looks a little off.

 

It's difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like some of the surface area around the mintmark is discontinuous from the surrounding area of the coin - like some work had been done around there.

 

That is my two cents and I definitely could be wayyyy off. I hope some others will give their opinions because I really like this kind of topic. Lost Dutchman was excellent with this stuff - hey LD, you around??

I hope it's real she could use the money anyway thanks I really appreciate your input.

[tarsdaddy]

I'm not an expert, but the coin appears to be genuine. Unless I am mistaken, the most common methods of counterfeiting a 1909-S VDB would be to add an S to a 1909 VDB or add VDB to a regular 1909-S.

 

Compare to a genuine '09-S VDB:

 

 

My main concern would be a fake mint mark, but the clarity and detail of the S does not lead me to believe it is counterfeit. I would certainly have it graded and certified, since that coin could easily be worth upwards of $1,000.

How do you go about getting a coin certified?

[bill]

The pictures need to be much sharper in my opinion. Check this website for pictures of genuine and fake coins. Your S mintmark seems to look good, I can't really tell about the B in the VDB. The closeup looks bad, the full shot looks like it might be okay. Without sharper photos it is really difficult to tell anything for certain. Elsewhere on that same web site is information about submitting coins for authentication/grading.