Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #2.07 (KM #163) – Mintage 1,737,612
Despite the low mintage, this coin is not particularly difficult to obtain although gem examples are rare.
This is a truly amazing coin. It exhibits the pale brassy color typical of the early San Francisco mint centavos and much more red than many "Red" designated coins I've seen. It probably didn’t achieve an MS65RD designation because of the light fingerprint on the reverse. It has great eye appeal and a WOW factor that's hard to capture in a scan or photo. This is one of the two finest RB specimens graded by NGC.
There is an interesting story behind how I acquired this coin. Once or twice per year, a well known and highly respected dealer of Philippine coins runs a mail bid auction. In one of those auctions in 2006, I placed a bid on an MS64RB 1909S Centavo. At the close, I received my invoice for the items I had won, but the 1909S was not one of them. I checked the prices and found that I should have won it. I chalked it up to human error and was ready to let it go until the dealer contacted me and apologized for missing my bid. Sadly, the coin had already been mailed out, but, as a consolation, the dealer offered me this 1909S for $25 over my high bid for the MS64. I responded immediately and never looked back. Ultimately a win-win for both of us.
As an aside, there was quite a bit happening at the San Francisco mint in 1909, including the last of the Indian Head cents and the beginning of Lincoln Cent production!
Varieties:
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ALLEN-2.07a - DDO - This variety can be identified by the subtle doubling of the tops of the letters in "UNITED" to the left of the eagle. This variety is quite rare and it took 10 years of serious collecting to find one. It can be viewed here (https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinView.aspx?PeopleSetCoinID=1618307) and is part of my second set. This variety is not recognized by NGC but it is by PCGS.
Date acquired: 1/3/2008 (already graded by NGC)
Rev. 12/8/2015