1909-S Cent Brings Attention

Of late the inaugural Lincoln cents of 1909 have generated a lot of interest among collectors. The VDB variety minted in Philadelphia has nearly tripled in value for lower grades (Good through Fine), and its better grade counterparts have nearly doubled in value. The San Francisco Mint version with the VDB, the obvious key of the series, has gained in small margin compared to the others, probably because to many the coin is still over-rated and over-valued at current levels.

Slowly but surely, however, the plain reverse S-mint Lincoln cent of 1909 has gained its own ground, and has become the subject of articles in at least two national magazines.

Mike Thorne writes for CoinAge magazine (July 2008 issue) in an article entitled, “The 10 Best Buys of 2008,” that this coin has, “a lot of room for price increases,” as he uses very small increases in value from one grade to the next to qualify his forecast. I happen to agree with him in that coins that show small value changes between similar grades are the ones that are historically primed for price jumps.

His article lists the 1909-S cent as his number two best buy (of ten total) for 2008. Not by any accident he does mention the 1909-S VDB cent and that it has, “increased tremendously in value in recent years. But it’s priced beyond the budget of many collectors...,” so he bypasses it as one of the top ten.

Paul M. Green, a respected numismatic author, writes a weekly editorial column for Numismatic News entitled, “Item of the Week.” In the June 3, 2008 issue, he chose the 1909-S Lincoln cent as the focus of his article.

He states, “There is not much evidence of 1909-S hoards. The expectation is that someone would have saved the 1909-S in some numbers, and it is slightly more available than might be expected today. It lists for just $360 in MS-60 and $1,325 in MS-65. While those are certainly premium prices for a Lincoln cent, they are not the prices one would expect for a Lincoln cent with a mintage under 2 million.”

That these two writers focused on the same issue in such a short span of time may be a coincidence, but it shows that the general numismatic public is being made aware more now than ever that the Lincoln cent, especially the inaugural issue, is a coin that is definitely not to be forgotten.