1909 V.D.B. Lincoln - More Details
Every kid that ever started a penny coin collection always wondered what V.D.B. stood for. Well, as you can see, there is no real mystery. The coin was minted with the designer's initials at the bottom of the reverse, below the wheat stalks. A few people complained (probably other designers whose names would some day be lost in obscurity) and the offensive initials were removed from the piece.
After several decades of use, the Indian motif, which had been a familiar sight on cents since 1859, was replaced by a new style, the Lincoln cent. The new design depicted on the obverse a head and shoulders portrait of Lincoln, bearded, facing right. IN GOD WE TRUST is above, LIBERTY is to the left, and the date is at the lower right. The reverse consists of two wheat stalks, one to the left and the other to the right, enclosing ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM above.
1909 V.D.B. cents, the Philadelphia Mint issue, are plentiful today in all grades from Good through Uncirculated, with most being in various worn conditions. Matte Proofs were minted to the extent of 420 pieces, but most of these were "spent," for collectors preferred the earlier mirrorlike style to the matte finish.