1909-S VDB Wheat Cent Value and 1909 Penny Price Chart

In 1909 the U.S. Mint struck about 103.0 million Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 100.7 million, San Francisco 484,000, San Francisco 1.8 million. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1909 ranks number 106 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the lower-mintage dates of the series. The scarcest 1909 issue by mintage is San Francisco (484,000); the most common is Philadelphia (100,697,618). Proof cents for collectors: 3,546 from Philadelphia.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1909 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1909 circulation cents are S (San Francisco). Proof cents for 1909 were struck at Philadelphia with no mint mark; they have mirror-like fields and came from collector sets, not from circulation.

• 1909-S VDB. Only 484,000 struck at San Francisco with designer Victor D. Brenner's initials on the reverse before they were removed; the key date and most famous variety of the entire Lincoln cent series.
• 1909 is the first year of the Lincoln cent. Look at the bottom of the reverse, under the wheat stalks: early 1909 coins carry the designer's initials V.D.B. The San Francisco version with those initials (1909-S VDB) is the key date of the whole series, so a genuine S mint mark under the date plus the initials is the combination to confirm carefully.
• From 1909 through mid-1918 the designer's initials do not appear on the obverse. If a coin dated in this range shows tiny V.D.B. letters at the cut-off of Lincoln's shoulder, it is not an original strike from that year.
• Wheat cents were struck in bronze (3.11 g) except for 1943. Genuine coins show a plain edge and a slightly lighter, more reddish colour than modern zinc cents when uncirculated; a brown, evenly worn coin is the normal state for this era and is not damage.
• Rule out cleaning (unnatural brightness, fine parallel scratches) and flat machine doubling before you call anything a variety; see how to read dates and mint marks.

PCGS Price Guide values for 1909 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1909: $4–$7 in circulated grades (G4 to XF40); $60 in MS63 RD and $250 in MS65 RD.
• 1909-S: $90–$200 in circulated grades (G4 to XF40); $600 in MS63 RD and $1,800 in MS65 RD.

The 1909 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 1909-S VDB (RD): $2,300 in MS60 up to $150,000 in MS67.
• 1909 VDB (RD): $35 in MS60 up to $45,000 in MS68.
• 1909-S/S S/Horizontal S (RD): $600 in MS63 up to $29,000 in MS67.
• 1909 VDB Doubled Die Obverse (RD): $160 in MS60 up to $14,000 in MS67.

San Francisco is the lowest-mintage 1909 issue (484,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1909 cent usually sells for less than the lowest figure above, often a few cents in bulk wheat-cent lots. RD means full original red copper, RB red-brown, BN brown; the color grade can multiply the price. How grade and variety turn into a number is explained in what makes a coin valuable.

San Francisco struck two different 1909 cents, and they are easy to mix up. The Lincoln cent mintage tables on Wikipedia give:

• 1909-S VDB (initials on the reverse): 484,000
• 1909-S (no initials): 1,825,000
• 1909 VDB (Philadelphia): 27,995,000
• 1909 (Philadelphia, no initials): 72,702,618

The 484,000 figure belongs to the 1909-S VDB only. A 1909-S without the initials is the second-scarcest coin of the year and is listed by PCGS at $90 in Good and $200 in XF40.

Nobody has an exact count, and published estimates differ widely. CoinValueChecker estimates about 5,000 survivors in all grades. Coin-Identifier reports that Greysheet (2026) estimates about 20,000, while some PCGS-based figures reach 50,000; the higher numbers count every grading submission, including the same coin resubmitted or graded by more than one company. All of these are small next to the 484,000 struck, because collectors saved the coin from the start.

The three common fakes, per Coin-Identifier: an S added to a Philadelphia 1909 VDB, V.D.B. added to a 1909-S, and cast copies with soft detail, tiny holes or seam lines. Checks you can do with a loupe:

• The S. Genuine San Francisco cents of 1909–1916 have an S with parallel serifs and a small raised dot inside the top curve (Coin-Identifier, citing NGC). Four genuine S positions under the date are recognized.
• The initials. V.D.B. sits at the bottom of the reverse, near the rim, centered between the wheat stalks.
• Surfaces around the S and the initials. Tool marks, a seam or a different color around either one point to an addition.
• Weight. A bronze cent weighs 3.11 g; a cast copy often does not.

Because a Good example is listed at $875, have any 1909-S VDB authenticated by PCGS or NGC before buying or selling it.

Victor David Brenner's initials were placed large at the base of the reverse, and the design drew complaints as soon as it was released. Within days Treasury Secretary MacVeagh stopped production, the initials were removed, and cents without them were in circulation by August 12, 1909 (Wikipedia). The initials returned in 1918, much smaller, on Lincoln's shoulder. That is why a VDB on the reverse means 1909, and tiny initials on the shoulder are normal on every cent from 1918 on.

• MS67 Red: $168,000 at Stack's Bowers, April 2022 (reported by Coin-Identifier).
• MS67 Red: $170,800 at Heritage, January 2026 (reported by CoinValueChecker).
• MS66 Brown: $10,000 in December 2022 (reported by Coin-Identifier).

The PCGS Price Guide (September 24, 2026) lists $150,000 for MS67 RD, $50,000 for MS67 RB and $25,000 for MS67 BN, which is in line with these sales.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. Prices are copied from the named price guide or auction report with its date; where a figure could not be confirmed we say so rather than estimate. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.

The 1909 VDB Lincoln cent struck at Philadelphia (no mint mark, V.D.B. on the reverse) is worth about $18 to $20 in circulated grades. PCGS Price Guide values (September 24, 2026):

• Brown (BN): $18 in G4, $19 in F12, $20 in XF40, $30 in MS60, $55 in MS63, $110 in MS65.
• Red-brown (RB): $140 in MS65, $950 in MS67, $23,000 in MS68.
• Red (RD): $225 in MS65, $525 in MS66, $1,500 in MS67, $45,000 in MS68.

The jump from MS67 to MS68 shows how few perfect coins exist. CoinValueChecker (page updated September 23, 2026) reports an MS68 Red sold for $56,400 at Heritage in June 2021.

• 1909 VDB Doubled Die Obverse. Doubling shows on LIBERTY and the date. PCGS lists $26 in G4, $100 in XF40, $150 in MS60 BN and up to $14,000 in MS67 RD (September 24, 2026).
• 1909 VDB matte proof. Proofs for collectors were made with a fine matte surface; CoinValueChecker reports 1,194 struck and a PR66 Red sold for $43,920 at Heritage in January 2026. A matte proof is hard to tell from a sharp business strike, so this is a coin to buy only certified.

Four different Lincoln cents are dated 1909. Look at two places: the bottom of the reverse, under the wheat stalks, for V.D.B., and the front, under the date, for an S.

• V.D.B. and no S: 1909 VDB, Philadelphia, about $18 worn.
• No V.D.B. and no S: 1909, Philadelphia, about $4 to $7 worn.
• S and no V.D.B.: 1909-S, $90 in Good.
• S and V.D.B.: 1909-S VDB, the key date, $875 in Good.

All prices are PCGS Price Guide, September 24, 2026. If your coin shows an Indian in a feathered headdress instead of Lincoln, it is a 1909 Indian Head cent: see Indian Head penny value, where the 1909-S Indian (309,000 struck) is $376 in Good (USA CoinBook, February 2026).

A plain 1909 Lincoln cent (no V.D.B., no mint mark) is worth about $4 to $7 in circulated grades. PCGS Price Guide (September 24, 2026):

• 1909, brown (BN): $4 in G4, $5 in F12, $7 in XF40, $28 in MS60, $45 in MS63, $125 in MS65, $215 in MS66.
• 1909, red-brown (RB): $30 in MS60, $140 in MS65, $2,600 in MS67.
• 1909, red (RD): $32 in MS60, $250 in MS65, $550 in MS66, $4,000 in MS67.
• 1909-S (no VDB), BN: $90 in G4, $120 in F12, $200 in XF40, $350 in MS60, $850 in MS65.
• 1909-S, RD: $375 in MS60, $1,800 in MS65, $4,000 in MS66, $25,000 in MS67.

The Red Book figures quoted by JM Bullion are close for worn coins: $4 in Good and $12 uncirculated for the 1909, $100 in Good and $275 uncirculated for the 1909-S.

Three things, and most 1909 cents have none of them:

• The S mint mark. San Francisco made only 484,000 cents with V.D.B. and 1,825,000 without it, against 100.7 million at Philadelphia (Wikipedia mintage tables).
• The short VDB period. The designer's initials were removed within days of release, which is why the 1909-S VDB is so scarce.
• Proofs and top grades. Philadelphia made only 1,194 matte proofs with V.D.B. and 2,352 without (Wikipedia). CoinValueChecker reports a 1909-S without VDB in MS67 sold for $69,000 in August 2004.

First year of issue alone does not make a 1909 cent rare: a worn Philadelphia coin without initials is $4 in the PCGS guide.

The PCGS Price Guide (September 24, 2026) lists these wheat cents at $100,000 or more in their best grade:

• 1943-D bronze: $1,700,000 (MS64 BN)
• 1958 doubled die: $1,140,000 (MS65 RD)
• 1943 and 1943-S bronze: $1,000,000 each (MS63)
• 1944-S steel: $525,000 (MS66)
• 1922 No D, strong reverse: $275,000 (MS64 RD)
• 1944 steel: $170,000 (MS64); 1944-D steel: $165,000 (MS63)
• 1909-S VDB: $150,000 (MS67 RD)
• 1911 and 1926-S: $125,000 each (MS68 RD and MS65 RD)
• 1917-S: $120,000 (MS66 RD)
• 1918-D: $100,000 (MS67 RD)

Only the metal errors and the 1958 doubled die reach six figures in ordinary grades; the others need a nearly perfect red coin. The full ranking is on top 100 pennies worth money.