FLOAT
1909-S VDB Lincoln cent in a PCGS MS64RB holder, obverse visible — another certified example of the same issue; the tracked PCGS MS65 Red specimen is a different coin
1909-S VDB Lincoln cent in a PCGS MS64RB holder, obverse visible — another certified example of the same issue; the tracked PCGS MS65 Red specimen is a different coin

1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent

Maker
U.S. Mint (San Francisco)
Year
1909
Rank
35 of 100
Identifier
1c bronze, Lincoln Wheat, S mintmark with VDB initials, PCGS MS65 Red

1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent

Realized at auction: $5,880, dated 2024. This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The most famous key date in all of U.S. coin collecting — the cent that launched generations of collectors.

1c bronze, Lincoln Wheat, S mintmark with VDB initials, PCGS MS65 Red

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$5,880
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
2024

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent is number 95 of 100 in the coins entries of the FLOAT 100. 92 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (35 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
Archive
2026-08-08

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FLOAT is a free tracker. Add the coins you own, keep photos and certificates with each item, and see a value built from real sales at your item's grade. This page is a public reference; it does not offer, price or sell insurance.