THE RABBIT HOLE OF THE 1909 WHEAT CENT

An Exploration of 1909 and 1910 Lincoln Cent Varieties

Recently added to the Newman Portal is Shawn Tew's The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Wheat Cent, a work supported in part by a grant from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society. In this work, Tew synthesizes the current technical research related to this coin and uses material from the National Archives to provide context for the design changes made early in the life of the Lincoln cent, the most ubiquitous coin in recorded history.

The interplay between Victor D. Brenner and Charles Barber is fascinating, as the efforts to bring artistry to the nation's coinage come into conflict with the quotidian concerns of day-to-day coinage production. Tew summarizes the known varieties for the 1909 and 1910 cents, one of which reuses a reverse from 1909. Tew leaves no stone unturned and integrates test results from the Center for Advanced Microscopy at Michigan State University, in order to analyze the relief profiles of the reverse dies. The work concludes with analysis of a remarkable hoard of Lincoln cents put away in 1909 and not fully examined until today.

Image: The infamous VDB initials on the reverse of the 1909 Lincoln cent, engraved by Victor D. Brenner and reworked by Charles Barber

Link to The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Wheat Cent on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/629442

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