1909 VDB LWC, My Research Into This Die Pair So Far

I've been doing a lot of research on this die pair haha. My hypotheses is that this die pair started by making matte proof 1909 VDB wheat cents, and the die pair was then sent to make business strike coins. To prove this I need to compare examples of the proof coins from this die pair, and business strike coins from this die pair.

First I will show the coins I am comparing.

This coin is what the pictures will refer to as "coin 1".
This is the one I believe to be a proof



This coin is what the pictures will refer to as "coin 2".
This is what I believe to be a business strike from the proof dies. Very matte proof like.




In order to prove that coin 1 is a proof, and coin 2 is a business strike coin from the proof die pair, I have to show the similarities and differences in the two die states. This is important so that every matte proof like vdb Wheat cent is not mistaken as a proof from this die pair.

First thing I will show, is that these two coins have the same doubling on the reverse, and that the obverse is rotated to the left by about 10 degrees. These are the most clear signs of being from this die pair.

Here are the best pictures I have of the doubling in the motto, the letters are slightly thickened with the bowls and counters of the letters being noticeably smaller.
Here is US of PLURIBUS, the S is the most noticeably thickened device, these examples are reduced a little bit by Machine Doubling


The obverse die is rotated to the left just a noticeable amount.
These pictures are of a coin in the same die state as coin 1. You can see the obverse rotation here, I could't picture it with my coins but they have the same rotation.



Here are the close ups of the coin in the slab. These pictures show that this die pair was set up and struck very slightly towards the top left, you can see this on coin 1 and the few other examples online. You can see the matte proof finish as well as squared rims. They look equally as square as the other verified proof 1909 vdb cents.



Another big die marker is apparent on both coins


I am not sure if these are hub markers or not, all I know is that these marks are visible on both coins, but I have not been able to determine if they are unique to the die pair




So how does one determine if they have a matte proof VDB from this die pair or a matte proof like business strike VDB from this die pair? Before going into business strike production, the die was hand polished removing some light die markers and adding some new ones



This is the U in US of PLURIBUS


I have more research to do into the various stages of this die pair but for the most part I have proven the first two stages, being a proof die pair then going into business strike production. This is all the evidence I am limited to with the small amount of coins I have in my possession, I am also limited to the quality and amount of pictures online. In the heritage auctions sold listings, I could only find a few coins exactly like coin 1, and a lot of coins like coin 2 but in further die stages.

In conclusion, Coin 1 is a proof coin, and coin 2 is a business strike from the proof die pair. You can determine if it is from this die pair by looking at the die marker to the left of the left wheat stalk, looking at the rotated die, and the slight doubling on the reverse, most noticeable in the motto. You can determine if it is a proof by looking for squared rims all around, slightly offset obverse to the left upwards, and the die scratches I showed in the pictures above.

This was a lot of work, if anyone was interested and made it this far, let me know if you think I need more solid evidence or anything of the sorts. I'm working to see what I can do with the information I have.