THE HOLY GRAIL OF CENTS 1909-S VDB updated photos

[waseeker]

Won't try to keep you in suspense. As the title says I found a 1909 S VDB today while searching a bag of cents.

Here is the rest of the story. It's kinda long but hey I don't find one of these every day.

I have 3 branch banks that sell me the bags that come off of their coin counters. Recently the big volume one got a new counter that uses a big bin rather than individual bags to store coin that is run through the machine. I was pretty bummed out about it since my volume is way down. However, a couple of weeks ago one of my favorite tellers from that branch got a promotion to another branch that I never visit because it is out of the way. Anyway, yesterday I had some extra time while running errands and pick-ups so I went by that branch to see what they had. I managed to pick up 2 cent bags and 1 dime bag. The dime bag had 4 silver roosies in it, which is about normal these days so I was pretty happy with that.

I had intended to play golf or metal detect today, but it was one of those Pacific Northwest days where it was raining at home, snowing in the higher elevations and just too darn cold and windy to play golf or detect. So I grabbed a bag on cents and started searching. It was a typical bag and I had found 7 or 8 wheats and put them in my little collection bowl. I found a very worn cent that was wheat side up and as is my practice I put it off to the side to look at when I finished the bag. Soon thereafter I found a pretty nice 1919 and into the bowl it went. Then found another one wheat side up that looked like it might be old so I sat it to the side. After finishing the bag I turned my attention to the 2 that I had set aside. The really worn one was a 1913, so I was happy. Then I picked up the other one and looked at the reverse (without a magnifying glass). I noticed what I figured was a bit of damage at the bottom and flipped the coin over. Staring at me was a gorgeous 1909S. Remembering what I thought was damage and immediately recalling that some of the S VDB reverses have a very weak S VDB, I turned the coin back over and looked at it with a magnifying glass at a slightly different angle. Sure enough there it was. I screamed and yelled to my wife that I had found the holy grail. She humored me by saying that's nice dear and went on with her work

Once I came down from the ceiling I called or texted everyone I know who would be interested in my find. Then I thought time to get this puppy on TN. Of course the battery in my camera was flat, so I posted a quick note about the find in another thread here about the oldest finds among the rare cents. I put the battery in the charger and tried to get a few other things done. After about an hour I checked the charger and the charged light still wasn't on so not wanting to rush things, I went out to run my errands and came back a couple of hours later figuring that the battery would be charged. The charged light still wasn't on, but I figured it had enough charge by now so that I could get a couple of pics taken. Turns out the battery wasn't flat it was DEAD. I tried another camera, but couldn't get a close enough focus for a good pic. So now I'm really p*ssed, so I go to the Sony website to see if they even still stock a battery for this camera. ( it is an old Mavica that uses 3.5" disks as the recording media). They did have the battery so I ordered one. At about the same time I pressed the purchase button on the Sony site I thought maybe Batteries Plus would have one. So I went to their web site and sure enough there it was. Called the local store to inquire and they had it in stock. They did so it was back in the car for a 15 mile trip to the area where I had just been running errands to pick up a battery. Of course all the way there and back I'm hoping some idiot doesn't hit me or that I don't have a heart attack or car trouble because I was so excited to get the battery and be able to post the pic.

So here is the pic. As you can see the VDB is kinda faint when looking straight at the reverse. But, one of the known reverses is referred to as the faint VDB. You can see it a bit better in the partial pic.

 

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[waseeker]

Great great find, and a big congrats. You did find it as you were CRH'g, so my vote goes for BANNER. I bet you forgot all about those 6-rosie's ? The only way to top this find would be finding a 1916-D Mercury dime in F/EF condition in your next box. It's pays off to be a collector and CRHer at the same time, and not just going for silver.

I did find a 1916D dime in a bag of dimes about 3 years ago. Unfortunately it was a counterfeit

 

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[ImpurestStewart]

Why is this Banner. I thought this was a Treasure Hunting site, and banner finds came from hunting It may be a scarse coin, but if I go out and buy a scarse saxon coin, I wouldn't expect to make the banner.

Having said that weldone on a rare score....just a shame it never came under the coil.

SS

He didn't go out and "buy" this coin for one. If by "buy" then you mean purchased for face value then I'd go for it. I am slighty offended you don't consider our "urban" form of treasure hunting valid. This site is more than just Metal Dectecting. You should try it sometime, I'm sure there are some old silver british pounds floating around over that way.


Just because we aren't swinging a coil to find treasure doesn't take away from this find. CRHing isn't as easy as people think, You have to know how to get and GET RID OF coin effectively. There is no need for such negativity.

There was no negativity....just a question I know how I would rather make banner...do you I knew some one like you would jump on this the wrong way.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Why is this Banner. I thought this was a Treasure Hunting site, and banner finds came from hunting It may be a scarse coin, but if I go out and buy a scarse saxon coin, I wouldn't expect to make the banner.

Having said that weldone on a rare score....just a shame it never came under the coil.

SS

He didn't go out and "buy" this coin for one. If by "buy" then you mean purchased for face value then I'd go for it. I am slighty offended you don't consider our "urban" form of treasure hunting valid. This site is more than just Metal Dectecting. You should try it sometime, I'm sure there are some old silver british pounds floating around over that way.


Just because we aren't swinging a coil to find treasure doesn't take away from this find. CRHing isn't as easy as people think, You have to know how to get and GET RID OF coin effectively. There is no need for such negativity.

There was no negativity....just a question I know how I would rather make banner...do you I knew some one like you would jump on this the wrong way.

There is no chance of finding British Silver floating around here, the only way to find them is by digging. Silver coins were taken out of circulation in the sixties. I meant nothing harsh in my reply, but there are a lot of folks on here, who have posted for years and not made the Banner...but I can see the attraction of maybe finding a rare coin by that way, just don't think it belongs up there...that's all.

 

[diggummup]

Great great find, and a big congrats. You did find it as you were CRH'g, so my vote goes for BANNER. I bet you forgot all about those 6-rosie's ? The only way to top this find would be finding a 1916-D Mercury dime in F/EF condition in your next box. It's pays off to be a collector and CRHer at the same time, and not just going for silver.

I did find a 1916D dime in a bag of dimes about 3 years ago. Unfortunately it was a counterfeit

I found a 1943 copper cent, unfortunately it's plated steel.

 

[elijahhenry10]

Wow, Congrats!! I would have definately been changing my pants after seeing that!! I have only ever gotten 1 1909 from circulation, and that was the one and only wheat cent my moom brought back for me out of her tray at CVS. The sad thing is, she was afraid I was going to be disappointed in it because she figured it was common to find them!!

 

[ImpurestStewart]

Why is this Banner. I thought this was a Treasure Hunting site, and banner finds came from hunting It may be a scarse coin, but if I go out and buy a scarse saxon coin, I wouldn't expect to make the banner.

Having said that weldone on a rare score....just a shame it never came under the coil.

SS

He didn't go out and "buy" this coin for one. If by "buy" then you mean purchased for face value then I'd go for it. I am slighty offended you don't consider our "urban" form of treasure hunting valid. This site is more than just Metal Dectecting. You should try it sometime, I'm sure there are some old silver british pounds floating around over that way.


Just because we aren't swinging a coil to find treasure doesn't take away from this find. CRHing isn't as easy as people think, You have to know how to get and GET RID OF coin effectively. There is no need for such negativity.

There was no negativity....just a question I know how I would rather make banner...do you I knew some one like you would jump on this the wrong way.

There is no chance of finding British Silver floating around here, the only way to find them is by digging. Silver coins were taken out of circulation in the sixties. I meant nothing harsh in my reply, but there are a lot of folks on here, who have posted for years and not made the Banner...but I can see the attraction of maybe finding a rare coin by that way, just don't think it belongs up there...that's all.

You are aware we haven't had silver in our coins since 1970 right? The 90% coins stopped in 1964 and silver was taken completely out of half dollars(1965-1970 halves are 40% silver) at 1970. If we can find silver at the banks, I bet you can as well. Treasure hunting is still treasure hunting no matter how you go about doing it. I gurantee you that if someone found a 1909SVDB swinging a coil it would be banner in a millisecond. Let him have his glory.

 

[MR Senior L4S]

Why is this Banner. I thought this was a Treasure Hunting site, and banner finds came from hunting It may be a scarse coin, but if I go out and buy a scarse saxon coin, I wouldn't expect to make the banner.

Having said that weldone on a rare score....just a shame it never came under the coil.

SS

////////////////////////////////////

 

[SFBayArea]

It was a great find. One thing is that the west coast is good for S-mint cents and this is a great example of old S-mint coins still found in the wild. If a coin like that was found in the ground, it would've been corroded and not worth as much as the one found.

Personally, I wouldn't want a great find that I found even if I share it here to be banner. I don't want anymore attention draw to this hobby as it is. I don't want a new crop of competition in my area. Just cynical on my part. It's great to share here but not banner for CRHing. CRHing is not a team sport. LOL It's for individuals. Pennies are ok but competition in my area is the prime reason why I get a lot of skunks on halves nowadays.

 

[Mike from MI]

Holy Moly Batman!!!!!

 

[TxTim]

Congrats to you!!!

 

[MICHIGANJAY]

Now thats the one!!! No Arguments by me...that is Banner Worthy!!! Congrats on the Holy Grail of Lincolns & Thanks for Postin' !!!

Keep it Up!

MJ

 

[greatwun]

Thats one helluva score!!!!!!

 

[EastKyMiner]

Thats one helluva score!!!!!!

Well said, I agree..

HH...Miner

 

[Silver Searcher]

Why is this Banner. I thought this was a Treasure Hunting site, and banner finds came from hunting It may be a scarse coin, but if I go out and buy a scarse saxon coin, I wouldn't expect to make the banner.

Having said that weldone on a rare score....just a shame it never came under the coil.

SS

He didn't go out and "buy" this coin for one. If by "buy" then you mean purchased for face value then I'd go for it. I am slighty offended you don't consider our "urban" form of treasure hunting valid. This site is more than just Metal Dectecting. You should try it sometime, I'm sure there are some old silver british pounds floating around over that way.


Just because we aren't swinging a coil to find treasure doesn't take away from this find. CRHing isn't as easy as people think, You have to know how to get and GET RID OF coin effectively. There is no need for such negativity.

There was no negativity....just a question I know how I would rather make banner...do you I knew some one like you would jump on this the wrong way.

There is no chance of finding British Silver floating around here, the only way to find them is by digging. Silver coins were taken out of circulation in the sixties. I meant nothing harsh in my reply, but there are a lot of folks on here, who have posted for years and not made the Banner...but I can see the attraction of maybe finding a rare coin by that way, just don't think it belongs up there...that's all.

You are aware we haven't had silver in our coins since 1970 right? The 90% coins stopped in 1964 and silver was taken completely out of half dollars(1965-1970 halves are 40% silver) at 1970. If we can find silver at the banks, I bet you can as well. Treasure hunting is still treasure hunting no matter how you go about doing it. I gurantee you that if someone found a 1909SVDB swinging a coil it would be banner in a millisecond. Let him have his glory.

It's a bit different here, our Manarch has been on the thrown for nearly 60 years, and there have been many changes, the last silver coins were in the pounds, shilling and pence system, and were quickly removed from circulation when the decimal coinage came in. You will never get a silver coin from our banks, or anywere else and they would not be legal tender.

SS

 

[sagittarius98]

Why is this Banner. I thought this was a Treasure Hunting site, and banner finds came from hunting It may be a scarse coin, but if I go out and buy a scarse saxon coin, I wouldn't expect to make the banner.

Having said that weldone on a rare score....just a shame it never came under the coil.

SS

He didn't go out and "buy" this coin for one. If by "buy" then you mean purchased for face value then I'd go for it. I am slighty offended you don't consider our "urban" form of treasure hunting valid. This site is more than just Metal Dectecting. You should try it sometime, I'm sure there are some old silver british pounds floating around over that way.


Just because we aren't swinging a coil to find treasure doesn't take away from this find. CRHing isn't as easy as people think, You have to know how to get and GET RID OF coin effectively. There is no need for such negativity.

There was no negativity....just a question I know how I would rather make banner...do you I knew some one like you would jump on this the wrong way.

There is no chance of finding British Silver floating around here, the only way to find them is by digging. Silver coins were taken out of circulation in the sixties. I meant nothing harsh in my reply, but there are a lot of folks on here, who have posted for years and not made the Banner...but I can see the attraction of maybe finding a rare coin by that way, just don't think it belongs up there...that's all.

You are aware we haven't had silver in our coins since 1970 right? The 90% coins stopped in 1964 and silver was taken completely out of half dollars(1965-1970 halves are 40% silver) at 1970. If we can find silver at the banks, I bet you can as well. Treasure hunting is still treasure hunting no matter how you go about doing it. I gurantee you that if someone found a 1909SVDB swinging a coil it would be banner in a millisecond. Let him have his glory.

In 1947, copper-nickel coins were introduced instead of the .500 silver coins. Then, decimal coins were introduced in 1970, eradicating the old system based on multiples of 12, and was now based on multiples of 10, like most countries. In the 1990s, 5 and 10 pence (only denominations that had former coinage circulating with them) were made smaller, making the silver coins almost eradicated from circulation. The only hope would be 10 pence (possibly having old silver shillings). You can also get copper farthings in penny rolls, but they are not worth much. The only countries I know are possible ones for CRH are : US, Canada(now pulling silver and nickel from circ), Switzerland (pulling nickel coins from circ, maybe are pulling silver also), and Sweden (almost impossible to get rolls if you are not an owner of a business)

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Thats a amazing find! Can you post come close ups of the date/mm area? There are some diagnostics for this particular coin and this one being so rare is heavily counterfited. There are 3 possible variants to the 1909 S VDB and no more.

 

[jarlbartar]

Wow, that is the find of a lifetime, enjoy it! Doesn't really mater if you dug it up in your back yard, found it on the sidewalk or took it out of the penny tray at the gas station - you found it now its in your collection! Contests again, go buy a lottery ticket or something...

 

[Yinzi50]

[/quote]
It's a bit different here, our Manarch has been on the thrown for nearly 60 years, and there have been many changes, the last silver coins were in the pounds, shilling and pence system, and were quickly removed from circulation when the decimal coinage came in. You will never get a silver coin from our banks, or anywere else and they would not be legal tender.

SS
[/quote]

One more reason to love US! We can get silver coins from our banks at face!

 

[Silver Searcher]

It's a bit different here, our Manarch has been on the thrown for nearly 60 years, and there have been many changes, the last silver coins were in the pounds, shilling and pence system, and were quickly removed from circulation when the decimal coinage came in. You will never get a silver coin from our banks, or anywere else and they would not be legal tender.

SS
[/quote]

One more reason to love US! We can get silver coins from our banks at face!
[/quote]Maybe...but you should see what's buried here, 2000 years of lost coinage

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nicely done--fantastic find!!

All the best,

Lanny