1909 VDB Grade Please

Thank you all for the grades. Not sure if it matters grading wise, but I forgot to mention it's a DDO

No problem, I'll tell what I see.

Keep in mind, these were the first coins produced from brand new hubs and dies so the strikes are normally strong.

Obverse - A little crud in the devices. I see wear on the rim, lapel and the temple area. Also, numerous hits, mostly small, but many more that I'd expect to see on an unc coin. All of the devices are banged-up. Most of all, I can tell the original mint luster has faded.

Reverse - For sure AU, lost luster, slight wear on the wheat lines/grains and numerous small hits scattered around (more than expected for unc). The rims show circulation wear and the whole reverse is just flat.

Badthad,

Thanks for the pictures and discussion. I will be the first to admit I struggle the most with MS coins (especially from pictures). I can appreciate your points and could be swayed in my thinking. I probably need the coin in hand to be sure.

This is a great example of why this is the best coin forum around. A cordial, polite discussion about a coin with examples of others to support one's position.... nice. This is how we all learn to be better graders, which in turn, makes us all better collectors.

Thanks everyone.

Maybe it's just the pictures or maybe it's just me, but the obverse color seems slightly off. It looks a slightly yellow and the toning on the hair and rim looks a tad splotchy. Curiously, the toning on the hair seems to be mostly on the tops of the curls and forehead and not so much in the recesses of the curls. I am not quite sure if the surfaces are original or not but it makes me wonder. At best it may grade MS-61/62 RB.

Ah, now I see. I'm not good at determining MD or DD on older coins.

This is an awesome thread. dbrablec, I have to somewhat agree with your question to thad. I first looked at the photos on my iphone, and immediately thought MS, but I think I jumped the gun. Then when thad went in depth with the details and showed his coin, it is clear as day the difference. I then opened the post on my computer and the (incredible) photos--thad is exactly right--which leads me to my question.

It is clear that this coin at one point had been circulated, yet it looks clean and the color in my opinion looks remarkable for a coin having been around 104 years. I am not suggesting it has been cleaned, instead, I wonder, at what point do you think this coin had been removed from circulation? Kind of a general question, but I often wonder how long Good-AU have been in captivity... know what I mean?

I would grade this coin AU-55. Reverse is just too lackluster and dull to get the "pop" for AU-58 which technically is an MS-64 or MS-65 with a tiny amount of wear. In other words it has to be a coin that looks like MS that you almost call MS and would all but for that one or two little spots of wear.