Advice please

I was on a few weeks ago. I found a 1909 wheat penny and someone posted
a website for me. I looked at the site and it said there were 4 made
that year. I have the one with VDB stamped at the bottom. Is it worth
anything? I don't know how or where to find out. Ty.

B H wrote:
I was on a few weeks ago. I found a 1909 wheat penny and someone
posted a website for me. I looked at the site and it said there were
4 made that year. I have the one with VDB stamped at the bottom. Is
it worth anything? I don't know how or where to find out. Ty.

If there is no letter "S" in the space below the date, the coin is worth a
few dollars, depending on condition.

If there is a letter "S" in the space below the date, the coin could be
worth several hundred dollars, depending on condition and provided that it
is genuine (there are oodles of fakes of this version).

In real estate, it's "location, location, location." In numismatics, it's
"condition, condition, condition." There's a lot that goes into determining
"condition," so seek the advice of an experienced collector or a reliable
coin dealer. If you can take a picture of it and post it online somewhere,
and then post a link to it in this newsgroup, someone will be able to help
you.

Here's a link to a price guide for Lincoln cents:
http://numismedia.com/fmv/prices/lnccnt/pricesgd.shtml Look across the
lines labelled 1909 VDB BN and 1909 S VDB BN, and you will see the upward
progression of values as the condition increases. However, since you're a
novice, use it with great caution.

James

"B H" wrote in message
...

I was on a few weeks ago. I found a 1909 wheat penny and someone posted
a website for me. I looked at the site and it said there were 4 made
that year. I have the one with VDB stamped at the bottom. Is it worth
anything? I don't know how or where to find out. Ty.


Hello

Your original posting was back on Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

Does it have a mint mark below the year on the front side
of the coin? If no mint mark, it was minted in Philadelphia.
If it has a mint mark "s", it was minted in San Francisco.
Far less 1909 coins was minted from the San Francisco
mint that year.

No one here can tell you it's worth since we cannot not see
this coin and it's physical condition.

I would have the coin graded to determine it's value. Check
out the links below.

PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service)
http://www.pcgs.com/dealers/

ANA (American Numismatic Association)
http://www.money.org/ana_custom/deal...ler_search.cfm

...
















If the back side of the Penny has the letters "VDB", located at
the bottom, does it have a mint mark on the front just below the
year? If the coin was minted in San Francisco, the mint mark
letter would be "S". No mint mark below the year would indicate
it was minted in


Philadelphia

On Jul 17, 5:37 am, (B H) wrote:
I was on a few weeks ago. I found a 1909 wheat penny and someone posted
a website for me. I looked at the site and it said there were 4 made
that year. I have the one with VDB stamped at the bottom. Is it worth
anything? I don't know how or where to find out. Ty.

Like millions of other people, you were seriously misinformed on
several points.

First, of the rarest variety of 1909 VDB Cents, over 1,000 are known:
1194 matte proof examples. Not 4.

2. Even those sell for a mere $1500. Coins are the single most
common artifact of any civilization. They are all junk, basically.
When people with too much money spend too much money for such junk, it
makes newspaper headlines. That gives other people the idea that old
coins are valuable.

Third, there are nearly half a million 1909-S VDB cents (484,000
according to records). They sell for between $400 and $1000,
depending on condition. Grade is everything.

Fourth, a 1909 VDB from Philadelphia can be yours for $3 to $15
depending on the grade because nearly 28 million were struck. They
are as common as dirt. Why pay 15 bucks for dirt? Go to a garden
shop and see what they want for topsoil -- or fertilizer...
Everything has a price, even old coins.

Fifth, of the 1909-S VDBs out there, many are fakes, obvious to
numismatists but deceitful to the general public. To get around that
problem, any coin worth the cost of the service will be submitted to
one of the highly respected grading companies. That said, you need to
avoid unrespected and disrespected grading companies.

This all might seem alienating, but consider that if you see a child
wearing a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap, you know that the child is
not really on the team. So, too with numismatics. A few years in the
hobby, and much becomes second nature.

Mike M.
Michael E. Marotta
When asked what he collected, Walter Breen replied, "Knowledge."

Mike Marotta wrote:
On Jul 17, 5:37 am, (B H) wrote:
I was on a few weeks ago. I found a 1909 wheat penny and someone
posted a website for me. I looked at the site and it said there
were 4 made that year. I have the one with VDB stamped at the
bottom. Is it worth anything? I don't know how or where to find
out. Ty.

Like millions of other people, you were seriously misinformed on
several points.

First, of the rarest variety of 1909 VDB Cents, over 1,000 are known:
1194 matte proof examples. Not 4.

Eh? The "4" refers to the four 1909-dated coins normally recognized as part
of a complete Lincoln cent set.

2. Even those sell for a mere $1500. Coins are the single most
common artifact of any civilization. They are all junk, basically.

I collect such numismatic junk. Let me know what you have, and I'll load it
out and haul it away at no charge to you. I'll even leave a nice thank you
note and a York peppermint patty on your dining room table before I go.

When people with too much money spend too much money for such junk, it
makes newspaper headlines. That gives other people the idea that old
coins are valuable.

That people spend large amounts of money on coins is not debatable. Whether
it is junk, or whether they pay too much, is the stuff upon which newsgroup
discussion thrives.

Third, there are nearly half a million 1909-S VDB cents (484,000
according to records). They sell for between $400 and $1000,
depending on condition.

Mike, can you get me a 1909-S V.D.B. in PCGS choice AU-58 PQ CAC for $1000?
Ira charges quite a bit more for one of those, and anyway, he doesn't have
one in stock right now. I'll even pay you 10% finder's fee.

James the Scavenger

"Mike Marotta" wrote in message
...
On Jul 17, 5:37 am, (B H) wrote:
I was on a few weeks ago. I found a 1909 wheat penny and someone posted
a website for me. I looked at the site and it said there were 4 made
that year. I have the one with VDB stamped at the bottom. Is it worth
anything? I don't know how or where to find out. Ty.

Like millions of other people, you were seriously misinformed on
several points.

First, of the rarest variety of 1909 VDB Cents, over 1,000 are known:
1194 matte proof examples. Not 4.

2. Even those sell for a mere $1500. Coins are the single most
common artifact of any civilization. They are all junk, basically.
When people with too much money spend too much money for such junk, it
makes newspaper headlines. That gives other people the idea that old
coins are valuable.

Hmmm. I've yet to find any Native American coins. Generalizations are
usually worthless.

Junk? Is that why some call it "junk silver"? What does "basically" mean?


Third, there are nearly half a million 1909-S VDB cents (484,000
according to records). They sell for between $400 and $1000,
depending on condition. Grade is everything.

Demand trumps grade. Without it, there would be no need for grading.


Fourth, a 1909 VDB from Philadelphia can be yours for $3 to $15
depending on the grade because nearly 28 million were struck. They
are as common as dirt. Why pay 15 bucks for dirt? Go to a garden
shop and see what they want for topsoil -- or fertilizer...
Everything has a price, even old coins.

Pssst. I know someone who regularly pays $2.50 for a bottle of water.

Turning a dollar into a couple rolls of bright 1909VDB's in 1909 could yield
a nice profit a hundred years later. Spending a dollar for topsoil in 1909
and saving it for a hundred years would possibly get your dollar back under
the right conditions.

On Jul 17, 8:27*am, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
Eh? *The "4" refers to the four 1909-dated coins normally recognized as part
of a complete Lincoln cent set.
Ah! Thanks for the clarification. I suppose that the standard for
normal recognition is the Whitman Folder. And the coins would be the
09, 09-S, 09 VDB, 09-S VDB. That does not quite square with the
oirginal post, as there are only 2 VDB varieties, or if you consider
just the VDBs of all kinds, there would be 3 because of the Matte
Proof. In all "there were six made that year" if you want to think of
it that way. Be all that as it may, I now know what answer to shout
out if I ring the buzzer ahead of the other contestants.

I collect such numismatic junk. *Let me know what you have, and I'll load it
out and haul it away at no charge to you. *I'll even leave a nice thank you
note and a York peppermint patty on your dining room table before I go.

I appreciate the offer. Even though I am not an active collector, I
have all kinds of junk to get rid of. This week is the Ann Arbor Art
Fair and I gave away Mercury Dimes in return for donations to the
Libertarian Party. That and my time in the booth was my volunteer
effort. I have a bag of UK Pennies that I use as unit coins or
challenge coins. Working in security, most of the people I patrol
with understand them. I also give them out to classmates at the end
of the semester, especially in the senior seminar classes where the
perception of a cadre or cohort is stronger. If you check my website,
Washtenaw Justice, you will see a picture of me in Halloween Masque
giving out stock certificates. If I am unable to find takers for this
junk, I will let you know.

... 1909-S VDB cents ... sell for between $400 and $1000,
depending on condition.
Mike, can you get me a 1909-S V.D.B. in PCGS choice AU-58 PQ CAC for $1000?

PQ means "premium quality." I do not know what CAC is. In any case,
the prices were approximate, of course. You specified one out of the
norm. You might as well ask for 50 in a bank-wrapped roll for
$50,000. Even so, with nearly half a million struck, it cannot be
"rare."

Mike M.
Michael E. Marotta

On Jul 17, 8:52*am, "Bruce Remick" wrote:
depending on condition. *Grade is everything.
Demand trumps grade. *Without it, there would be no need for grading.

Point taken. Of course. Demand is the driver.

Turning a dollar into a couple rolls of bright 1909VDB's in 1909 could yield
a nice profit a hundred years later. *Spending a dollar for topsoil in 1909
and saving it for a hundred years would possibly get your dollar back under
the right conditions.

Yes, of course... Assuming much...

Again, thanks for the reminder.

Mike M.
Michael E. Marotta
In demand or demanding.