Owner Comments:
The new Lincoln cent was a big hit with the public when it was introduced in August of 1909, but some objected to the fact that the designer’s initials, “VDB,” which stood for Victor David Brenner, appeared at the bottom of the reverse of the coin. Therefore the offending initials were removed creating a second minor type of Lincoln cent. In 1918 the mint quietly placed a tiny “VDB” under Lincoln’s shoulder on the obverse. Few people other than coin collectors noted the change.
The Lincoln cent with the wheat ears reverse became one of the longest running designs in U.S. coinage history. It would continue for 50 years until 1959 when the wheat ears were replaced by the Lincoln Memorial reverse. Over that time the Lincoln cent became a prime collectors’ item. Many collectors got their start in the hobby with a “penny board” or “penny folder” and started looking for those illusive pieces which sometimes had the tiny “D” and “S” mint marks that could make all the difference. The 1909-S-VDB, 1914-D and 1931-S cents became collector icons.
The coin shown above is a Matte Proof 1913 Lincoln cent. The mint introduced the Matte Proof finish in response to a trend that the French mint started at the beginning of the 20th century. Artists believed that the brilliant finish distracted from the presentation of their work. Coin collectors did not agree, and over time the sales of Proof coins fell so badly that the mint ceased to offer them.
To the right of the coin is a photo of a Lincoln plaque that Victor David Brenner designed in 1907. That plaque along with a medal that he designed (shown with the previous coin in this registry set, the 1909-VDB cent) was the genesis for the Lincoln cent design.