Is This A 1909-S ?

I know it is a long shot being as worn as it is, but can you take a closer look at the truncation of Lincoln's bust? 1918+ Lincolns should have a VDB there. I cannot tell from the photos posted. Even if it is gone, there still might be evidence of "tampering" if this is an attempt at faking a 1909.

Magnification?

All I have is a $15 Wal Mart magnifying glass and my 2+ year old 7MP digital camera.

I'm VERY new to coin collecting (less than a month), so I have none of the tools of the trade and almost no knowledge.

I checked for the VDB on the bust. That was a great idea. As expected, it was pretty worn in that area. It seemed like there were some indentations where the lettering would be, but there were similar indentations in places which shouldn't have had the lettering, so it seemed inconclusive to me. I honestly don't think I could get a useful photograph of that area, since it was hard enough just to tilt the coin to see it under the magnifying glass.

its a 1919-S

Pretty sure it's a 1919-S.

Just concentrating my vision on the LIGHT colors of the date I see vertical light colored "one" in the 3rd digit area.

Sit back away from your computer screen 2 feet or more and I think you will see it.

Have you checked the truncation of Lincoln's bust to see if there's a VDB on the obverse? If there is, that eliminates 1909.

Firecom - I came to the same conclusion you did the other day. The very last photo I took with the zoom on the date looked like a clear "1" from about 6 feet away from my computer. I looked for the V.D.B. under the bust the other day and it's too worn to see. What I ultimately did with this coin was stick it in the 1909-S hole in order to make my daughter happy, but I told her that it's most likely not really a 1909-S and I'm leaning towards thinking it's 1919-S. Maybe some day I'll come up with a real 1909-S :)

It doesn't look like a 0 to me, more like a 2.
It may be a good conversation piece, but it probably is not worth much.

On second thought, if it's this subjective, I might just put it in the book anyway for the sake of my kids and let them think it's an '09. They are really excited about this new hobby and if they think they found something rare it might keep them interested. Then maybe for their birthdays in March I can buy them one in poor condition, but with a legible date, so at least it would make the coin in the book legit.

I think that's a wonderful idea, it would make the coin priceless!