Need help with identification

Steven · Expert Member

Could this be a 1909S or maybe just corrosive trickery?
What looks to me like an S is not raised from the surface but appears more as a shadow of an S??? Any Help.

Thanks

murphy · Senior Member

Maybe the mint filed/ground the S off a die and didn't get it all.
Something else to think about, if it's a VDB, could it be a counterfeit that has had the S fall off?
My uncle use to make counterfeit coins of all sorts. He was a jeweler. I imagine any jeweler with some skill could cut/grind an S off one coin and glue/weld it on another coin. If it's not done properly of course, it could fall off. You should examine it under high magnification and ask yourself if such a thing has happened here, do you think it would leave an S-shaped mark like the one on your coin? Is there any glue or epoxy residue or un-natural shine in the area of the S? You might check for a ghost of VDB on the back, lol.
If you don't think it's a counterfeit then I would think the best explaination would be the mint has ground the S off the die and didn't get it all, because it DOES look like an S to me. Seems that I read somewhere that the different mints have been known to trade dies between themselves before. Guess the Philly Mint would just file off the mint mark and they're in business.
I'm far from an expert though.

coppercoins · Site Admin

Umm, no...it's a 1909P with a lot of corrosion. If there was a mintmark it would be far more obvious.

Steven · Expert Member

Yeah pretty bad shape. Needed another opinion or two.
Thanks,
Steven