The 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent and How it Changed the Hobby

CoinWeek editor Charles Morgan takes a deep dive into the 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent, the coin that changed American numismatics forever.

Buoyed by the issue’s low mintage and coupled with the controversy surrounding the removal of the designer’s rather prominent initials on the coin’s reverse, the 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent has been the stuff of numismatic lore for more than a century.

But there’s much more to this coin than its status as a series key. Not only was the 1909-S VDB the coin that popularized collecting coins by mintmark, but it also broadened the appeal of the numismatic hobby to the general public – with the help of an enterprising inventor, whose penny boards gave Depression-era Americans holes to fill.

After it quickly became apparent that the 1909-S VDB was hard to find, the rush was on. Learn about how one Maryland dealer turned a $250 investment into a $43,750 payday. Also, find out how Brenner’s beloved design almost met an early end when President Theodore Roosevelt tapped one of America’s most accomplished artists to reinvent all of America’s coinage from soup to nuts.

The original article and others like it can be found at coinweek.com.