Lincoln cent · 1909 · San Francisco · key date

1909-S VDB Penny: What It’s Worth and How to Spot a Fake

The 1909-S VDB is the key date of the Lincoln cent, with only 484,000 made. Even heavily worn ones sold for $750 to $793 in 2025–2026, uncirculated ones bring $2,340 to $13,200, and the record is $345,375. You need two things: an S under the date and the letters V.D.B. at the bottom of the back.

Updated October 22, 2026 · 9 sources

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1909-S VDB, heads side · Photo: PCGS

Year and mint: 1909, San Francisco (S under the date)
What’s special: Designer’s initials V.D.B. on the back, removed after days
How many: 484,000 struck, the lowest of any regular Lincoln cent
Designer: Victor David Brenner
Grading numbers: PCGS #2426 (BN), #2427 (RB), #2428 (RD)
Metal: Bronze · 3.11 g · 19 mm

What it’s worth

This coin is valuable in every condition, which is why it’s the most faked Lincoln cent. These are real auction results including the buyer’s premium.

Condition	Price	Sale
Good 6, heavily worn (PCGS)	$750	Heritage, December 2025 · source
VF30, moderately worn (PCGS)	$1,140	Stack’s Bowers, November 2025 · source
XF40, lightly worn	$1,200 to $1,440	Stack’s Bowers, three sales, 2023 · source
MS62 Red-Brown, uncirculated (PCGS)	$2,340	Heritage, August 2025 · source
MS64 Red-Brown, uncirculated (PCGS)	$2,684	Heritage, July 2026 · source
MS65 Red, gem (PCGS)	$6,710	Heritage, July 2026 · source
MS66 Red, gem (PCGS)	$13,200	Stack’s Bowers, March 2026 · source

$345,375The record: PCGS MS67 Red (CAC), the Stewart Blay coin, GreatCollections, January 15, 2023 · source

Other MS67 Red coins have sold for $168,000 (Stack’s Bowers, 2022) and $170,800 (Heritage, January 2026). Only 17 had graded MS67 Red at PCGS as of July 2025.

How to tell if you have one

Check the date says 1909 with an S just below it. No S means Philadelphia: the 1909 VDB, a common coin.
Turn it over. At the bottom edge, between the wheat stalks, look for the tiny letters V.D.B. A 1909-S without them is a different, cheaper coin.
Check where the S sits. Real coins came from four dies, each with the S in a slightly different spot against the bottom of the 9s: one high, two level with the bottom of the 9s, one low. An S anywhere else is a warning sign.
Check the shape of the S: on a real one the two end strokes are parallel. Then look at the metal around it with a magnifier. A shiny ring, a seam or a color change means an S was added.
Look at the initials: sharp letters, with angled bases on the D and B. If they’re faint, it may be the genuine “Weak VDB”, which sells for much less.
Have it graded by PCGS or NGC. A Philadelphia coin with an S added is the most common fake.

1909-S VDB heads side with the S under the date — **The S** sits under the date. Photo: PCGS

1909-S VDB wheat side with V.D.B. at the bottom — **V.D.B.** at the bottom of the back. Photo: PCGS

Coins that fool people

A 1909 VDB with an S added

The classic fake: a common Philadelphia coin with an S glued or soldered on. The S is the wrong shape, in none of the four real positions, or has disturbed metal around it.

Cast or struck counterfeits

Complete fakes and cast copies exist. Soft detail, a grainy surface or the wrong S and V.D.B. shapes give them away.

A real coin in a fake holder

Fake grading slabs are used to sell other coins as a 1909-S VDB. Check the certification number on the PCGS or NGC website.

A 1909-S without V.D.B.

Real and scarce (1,825,000 made), but a different coin with no initials on the back.

The story

The Lincoln cent was new in 1909, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Its designer, Victor David Brenner, first put his full name on the back; the Mint’s chief engraver cut it down to V.D.B.

The coin went into circulation on August 2, 1909. People complained the initials were too prominent, and on August 5 the Treasury Secretary ordered them removed.

By then San Francisco had struck only 484,000 cents with the initials, the lowest mintage of any regular Lincoln cent. That made it the coin every collector needs to finish a set.

Brenner’s initials came back in 1918, tiny, at the bottom of Lincoln’s shoulder on the front, where they still are.

Got a 1909 penny? Scan both sides.

A 1909-S VDB is worth hundreds even worn down, and fakes are everywhere. Scan it with AnyCoins first, then have a valuable one certified.

Open AnyCoins and photograph the heads side, then the tails side, in good light.
AnyCoins identifies the coin and checks it for known errors and varieties.
You see its condition estimate, a price range by condition and what the same coin has sold for.

Why collectors use AnyCoins

Photograph both sides and it names the coin: country, year, mint and denomination.
Values from real sales: a price range by condition and recent sales of the same coin, not a guess.
A condition estimate from your photos, so you know which row of the price table you’re in.
Checks the coin for known errors and varieties, the kind that turn a cent into thousands.
Melt value for silver and gold, and the mint that struck it on the Mint Map.

Questions people ask

How much is a worn 1909-S VDB penny worth?

Several hundred dollars even heavily worn: PCGS Good 6 coins sold for $750 (Heritage, December 2025) and $793 (Stack’s Bowers, May 2026). Moderately worn VF coins sold for $1,140 to $1,342.

What does VDB on a penny mean?

They’re the initials of Victor David Brenner, who designed the Lincoln cent. They were removed days after the coin came out in August 1909 and returned in 1918 on Lincoln’s shoulder.

How many 1909-S VDB pennies were made?

484,000, all at the San Francisco Mint.

How can I tell if my 1909-S VDB is real?

The S must match one of the four real positions under the date, with parallel end strokes and no disturbed metal around it, and the V.D.B. must be sharp. Have it graded by PCGS or NGC before selling.

Sources

Prices are public auction results including the buyer’s premium unless marked as a price guide. A coin’s value depends on its exact condition and on having it certified by a grading service such as PCGS or NGC.