[kiryandil]

OF COURSE it’s a VDB.

[immadashell]

Because it's copper it's worth something. Sarc/

[fidelis]

This inspires me to check behind my sofa cushions. You never know.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

A penny saved is a penny earned.

[Jim Noble]

I started collecting Lincoln pennies when I was a kid (before the Lincoln Memorial reverse). I have a nearly complete set (no errors), I never bought one but my grandma gave me a 1909-S (not VDB) as a gift.

Every single one, except for grandma’s gift, I got from pocket change.

Now, did the mint produce proof coins in 1909? I suppose it’s possible. Can a copper/bronze cent minted in 1909, proof or not, look like the coin in that photo? Almost certainly not.

The financialization of coin collecting ruined the hobby for me. One of the keys to this was the “grading” industry. PCGS has always had a good reputation, but in addition to grade, provenance of a coin like that is very important, because - the market is flooded with Chinese counterfeits, some of which are very, very good.

On eBay, there are lots of obvious counterfeit coins for sale, mostly easy to spot because of condition inconsistent with age.

Before I dropped $$ on a PR67 1909 VDB cent, I’m not sure that there even could be enough reliable information to show that it was real.

[4yearlurker]

Around 1968-69 I went on a class trip from South Jersey to the Philadelphia Mint. I remember a old wood building with huge round vats of blank quarters. Also up in the corner of one room was an old stuffed bald eagle behind glass. It was very dusting looking and had partially fallen over inside it's glass box. I think it was a mascot/pet back in the early 1900s.

[dainbramaged]

The United States Mint does not produce a “penny” coin. It’s called a ONE CENT PIECE.

[nesnah]