A 1909 penny is worth anywhere from $4 to several thousand dollars as of October 2026, depending on which of four Lincoln cents you have. A worn 1909 VDB brings about $18-25 and a plain 1909 about $4-8. The 1909-S without VDB sells for about $90-400 circulated. The key date, the 1909-S VDB with 484,000 struck, sold for about $1,000-1,700 in VF to AU at Stack's Bowers and Heritage in 2025-2026 and for $6,000-8,540 in PCGS MS65 red.
Because the 1909-S VDB is worth a thousand times more than a 1909 VDB, it is one of the most altered coins in America: an S added to a Philadelphia cent. This guide covers the four Lincoln cents, the two Indian Head cents also dated 1909, and the exact tells that separate a genuine S from an added one.
Quick answer
- 1909 VDB (27,995,000 struck): about $18-25 worn, PCGS guide $75-225 in MS63-MS65 red.
- 1909 plain (72,702,618): about $4-8 worn, $45-125 in MS63-MS65 brown.
- 1909-S (1,825,000): PCGS guide $90 in G4 to $325 in AU58, with 2025-2026 sales of $129-390 at VF to AU; $600-1,800 guide in MS63-MS65 red.
- 1909-S VDB (484,000): about $1,000-1,700 in VF30 to AU50 at auction in 2025-2026; PCGS guide $3,500 in MS63RD and $8,500 in MS65RD.
- A genuine S has a raised dot inside its upper curve, straight serifs, and sits in one of four known positions; added S marks fail these tests.
How do you value a 1909 penny, step by step?
Sort the coin into one of six types, then judge wear and check the S.
- Is it a Lincoln or an Indian Head? Both were struck in 1909. An Indian Head cent shows a feathered headdress and ONE CENT inside a wreath; it is covered later in this guide and in our Indian Head penny value guide.
- Turn a Lincoln over and look at the bottom rim. Tiny letters V.D.B. between the wheat stalk ends, centered under ONE CENT, mark the first design. No initials means the coin was struck after August 1909.
- Read the mint mark under the date. No letter is Philadelphia. An S is San Francisco, and it is the S that carries the money.
- If there is an S, test it. NGC's counterfeit detection guide notes that one S punch was used on all San Francisco cents from 1909 to 1916: look for a small raised dot inside the upper curve of the S, serifs that are straight rather than slanted at the bottom, and a position that matches one of the four known die placements. Added marks are often the wrong shape, sit in the wrong spot, or show a faint seam at the base.
- On a 1909-S VDB, test the VDB as well. Fakers also add initials to a genuine 1909-S. NGC notes that genuine initials show a slanted crossbar on the B and a slant on the bottom of the D, and often a touch of strike doubling; cut-in letters are flat and upright.
- Judge wear. Flat cheek and jaw and smooth wheat lines mean circulated. Full hair detail above the ear and unbroken luster mean mint state.
- Judge color. Brown, red-brown or red. On the 1909 VDB a red gem is easy to find; on the 1909-S it is not.
- Price from sold results for the exact type, grade and color.
What is a 1909 penny worth?
Prices as of October 2026. Guide figures are PCGS CoinFacts values; sales are PCGS-recorded auction results from Heritage (HA) and Stack's Bowers (SB).
| Coin | Mintage | Good to Fine | VF to AU | Mint state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 VDB | 27,995,000 | $17-19 guide | $19-26 guide | $55 MS63BN, $110 MS65BN; red $75 MS63, $225 MS65, $1,500 MS67; MS68RD sold $31,200-56,400 (2021-2025) |
| 1909 plain | 72,702,618 | $4-5 guide | $6-24 guide | $45 MS63BN, $125 MS65BN; MS67+RD sold $8,519 (2023) |
| 1909-S | 1,825,000 | $90-125 guide; sales $60-120 | $150-325 guide; sales $129-390 (2025-2026) | $450 MS63BN, $850 MS65BN; red $600 MS63, $1,800 MS65, $25,000 MS67; MS67+RD sold $48,000 (January 2025) |
| 1909-S VDB | 484,000 | Roughly $700-1,000; sales at these grades are thin, so treat this as an estimate | $1,350-1,700 guide at VF30-AU50; sales $1,020-1,525 (VF30), $1,140-2,440 (XF40), $1,260-2,160 (XF45), $1,380-1,708 (AU50) in 2025-2026 | Red $3,500 MS63, $4,600 MS64, $8,500 MS65 guide; sales $3,360-5,160 (MS64), $6,000-8,540 (MS65) in 2025-2026; no recent MS63 sales recorded by PCGS |
| 1909 Indian Head | 14,368,470 | $2-8 guide | $12-60 guide | $125 MS63BN, $225 MS65BN; red MS67 sold $3,360-4,560 |
| 1909-S Indian Head | 309,000 | $400-475 guide; sales $306-390 | $525-1,350 guide; sales $415-1,050 | $1,750 MS63BN; red $3,250 MS64, $6,000 MS65 guide; MS65RD sales $3,720-9,600 |
Two things stand out. First, the 1909 VDB is common in mint state because the public hoarded the new coin; PCGS estimates 40,000 uncirculated survivors and calls it the easiest early Philadelphia cent to find in gem red. Second, recent 1909-S VDB sales have run a little under the PCGS guide in circulated grades, so price from sales, not from the guide alone.
Why are there four different 1909 Lincoln pennies?
Because the designer's initials caused a public row in the first week. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln cent went on sale on August 2, 1909, with his initials V.D.B. on the reverse rim. Newspapers called it advertising. Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh suspended coinage on August 5, and by August 12 the Mint was striking cents with the initials removed. Philadelphia had made 27,995,000 with VDB and went on to strike 72,702,618 without. San Francisco had struck only 484,000 before the change and 1,825,000 after.
The initials came back in 1918, tiny, on the truncation of Lincoln's shoulder, where they remain. That is why "1909 VDB" and "1909-S VDB" are their own listings and why the S VDB, with the lowest mintage of any regular Lincoln cent, is the key to the series. Ron Guth notes on PCGS CoinFacts that the 1909-S VDB ranks 14th in the book 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. For the series as a whole, see wheat penny value.
How do you spot an added S on a 1909 penny?
Compare the S to the single genuine punch and check its position. According to NGC's counterfeit detection article, the 1909-S VDB is among the most commonly altered coins in the world, and the usual method is simple: take a 1909 VDB (27,995,000 made) and add an S. Here is what to check with a 10x loupe.
| Check | Genuine 1909-S | Added or fake S |
|---|---|---|
| Dot inside the S | Small raised dot inside the upper curve of the S, from the single 1909-1916 punch; NGC notes the dot is weak on some coins, so its absence alone is not proof | Usually no dot |
| Serifs | Straight at the bottom | Often slanted, or the S is too round or too thin |
| Position | One of four placements: high next to the 9s, level with the bottoms of the 9s, slightly right, or low and well to the right | Wrong height, wrong angle, or floating oddly below the date |
| Base of the letter | Flows into the field with no seam | A fine line, a tool mark or a change in surface texture around the base |
| VDB initials | Slanted crossbar on the B and slanted bottom of the D, often slight strike doubling | Upright, flat, carved-looking letters, added to a genuine 1909-S |
Two warnings. The die with the first S position was also used for 1909-S cents without VDB, so a coin with a genuine S can still have fake initials. And some counterfeits are struck from copy dies rather than altered, so they pass the S tests; NGC's point is that these markers catch alterations, not everything. A 1909-S VDB without a PCGS or NGC holder is worth exactly what a careful buyer can prove, which is why nearly every real one sells slabbed. A genuine repunched mint mark also exists for the year, the 1909-S over horizontal S, where the punch was first applied sideways and corrected; it carries a modest premium and is a different thing from an added letter. Our error coins worth money guide explains how repunched mint marks and other die varieties differ from damage.
What about 1909 Indian Head pennies?
1909 was also the last year of the Indian Head cent, and the two issues are worth very different amounts. The Philadelphia 1909 Indian Head, 14,368,470 struck, is a common last-year coin: PCGS guide values run $2 in Good, $12 in VF20, $30 in XF40 and $125 in MS63 brown, and red MS67 coins have sold for $3,360-4,560. The 1909-S Indian Head, with 309,000 struck, has the lowest mintage of any circulation Indian cent. PCGS lists $400 in G4 and $525 in VF20, and recent Stack's Bowers sales ran $306-432 in Good to VF and $512-561 in XF. In red mint state it sells for $3,720-9,600 at MS65. The same added-S trick is used here, so the same caution applies.
A worked example
Say you inherit a 1909 Lincoln cent with VDB on the back and an S under the date, medium brown, with the hair above Lincoln's ear worn flat and the wheat lines mostly visible: roughly VF. If genuine, that is a $1,000-1,500 coin at auction based on 2025-2026 sales. Under a loupe the S sits level with the bottoms of the 9s, has a tiny raised dot inside the top curve and straight serifs, and the field around its base is undisturbed. Those are the right signs. The next step is not to sell it to the first buyer; it is to send it to PCGS or NGC, because a slabbed VF 1909-S VDB sells quickly and a raw one invites a discount for doubt. If instead the S had sat far below the date with a smooth, slightly shiny ring around it, you would most likely have a $20 1909 VDB with an added letter.
Common mistakes
- Reading a 1909 VDB as the key date. The 1909 VDB is the common one; only the S VDB is worth four figures.
- Trusting an S without checking it. The added S is the single most common Lincoln cent alteration. Use the dot, serif and position tests.
- Forgetting the initials can be added too. A genuine 1909-S plus carved VDB letters is a known fake.
- Pricing from guide values alone. 2025-2026 sales of circulated 1909-S and 1909-S VDB coins ran below the PCGS guide.
- Cleaning a brown coin to make it red. A cleaned coin is worth less than an honest brown one; see should you clean old coins.
- Confusing the 1909-S Indian with the 1909-S Lincoln. Both are scarce, but the Indian in Good sells for about $300-400 and the Lincoln S VDB for far more.
How WorthPic reads 1909 penny photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of both sides it tells an Indian Head from a Lincoln, reads the date, looks for V.D.B. at the bottom rim of the reverse and for a mint mark under the date, and judges wear on the hair, cheek and wheat lines. On an S it looks for the dot, serif shape and position where the photo is sharp enough, and flags anything that looks inconsistent. It then gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure, explains what drives it, and says which close-up would settle the question. It cannot authenticate a 1909-S VDB from a phone photo, and it says so. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The front and back straight on, in even daylight.
- The mint mark filling the frame, as sharp as your phone allows, with the light from one side.
- The bottom rim of the reverse between the wheat stalks, for the V.D.B.
- Lincoln's hair above the ear and his cheek at an angle, to show wear.
- The edge of the coin, which on alterations sometimes shows a different color.
When to get it looked at in person
A 1909 VDB or plain 1909 needs no expert unless it is a blazing red gem. Any 1909-S, and especially any 1909-S VDB, should go to PCGS or NGC before it is sold, because buyers pay for the holder and discount a raw coin. A local dealer or coin club can give a first opinion on the S in a few minutes and will tell you honestly whether the grading fee makes sense. For the 1909-S Indian Head, the same applies. For a quick sort of the rest of a collection, start with what pennies are worth money and the coin grading scale.
Sources
- NGC: Counterfeit detection, authenticating 1909-S VDB Lincoln cents: the single S punch, the raised dot, the four mint mark positions, serif shape and the VDB letter tells.
- PCGS CoinFacts: 1909-S VDB 1C, RD: mintage, guide values and 2025-2026 mint state auction results.
- PCGS CoinFacts: 1909-S VDB 1C, BN: circulated guide values and VF to AU sales.
- PCGS CoinFacts: 1909-S 1C, BN: 1909-S mintage, grade-by-grade values and recent sales.
- PCGS CoinFacts: 1909 VDB 1C, BN: 1909 VDB mintage, values and survival estimates.
- Wikipedia: Lincoln cent: the August 1909 release, suspension and removal of the initials.