I have a 1955 Lincoln Wheat Penny with no V.D.B. (engravers initials) on the Obverse, How rare is this type of coin and is this a common error? 1 1

[Bruce Catz]

[EdG_Ohio]

Type or cut/paste into google or search engine "what year was the VDB penny" and you'll easily find your answer. Also try NGCs Coin Explorer, a wealth of information at your fingertips.

I'd like to correct myself, I had the 09' in my brain where it's on the Rev.

Edited March 7, 2021 by EdG_Ohio
didn't think all the way through.

[Henri Charriere]

1 hour ago, EdG_Ohio said:

Type or cut/paste into google or search engine "what year was the VDB penny" and you'll easily find your answer. Also try NGCs Coin Explorer, a wealth of information at your fingertips.

At the risk of reinforcing my rank amateur status are you suggesting a feature that has been a standard accessory on every Lincoln from 1918 to date was arbitrarily filled in on some dies and, if so, to what purpose?  This is a veritable slap in the face to Victor David Brenner and his progeny.

I want a second opinion!  Where's Coinbuf???

P.S.  NGC's Coin Explorer addresses only MS and PF Wheaties and Lincoln Memorial Cents; Google is annoyingly non-committal on this issue. Where's Coinbuf?

Edited March 7, 2021 by Quintus Arrius
My temperament after consulting cited sources.

[DWLange]

The initials were incuse and easily wore off the die. Your coin shows obvious die erosion (the "Poor Man's Doubled Die"), and the initials succumbed to this process. That's pretty common for cents from the 1950s, a time of very poor quality control at the U. S. Mints.

[Henri Charriere]

11 minutes ago, DWLange said:

The initials were incuse and easily wore off the die. Your coin shows obvious die erosion (the "Poor Man's Doubled Die"), and the initials succumbed to this process. That's pretty common for cents from the 1950s, a time of very poor quality control at the U. S. Mints.

The Good News is I have been corrected by both the OP and NGC's DWLange and am totally embarrassed.  The Bad News is I continue to confirm my rank amateur status regarding anomalies relative to coins I know nothing about. I thank God VKurtB, MAULEMAUL and my army of ignorers who were not around to witness the agony of my defeat. Coinbuf? Sorry, false alarm.

 

1 hour ago, EdG_Ohio said:

Type or cut/paste into google or search engine "what year was the VDB penny" and you'll easily find your answer. Also try NGCs Coin Explorer, a wealth of information at your fingertips.

At the risk of reinforcing my rank amateur status are you suggesting a feature that has been a standard accessory on every Lincoln from 1918 to date was arbitrarily filled in on some dies and, if so, to what purpose?  This is a veritable slap in the face to Victor David Brenner and his progeny.

I want a second opinion!  Where's Coinbuf???

[DWLange]

The obverse master hub of 1916 was used for more than 50 years before being replaced. The initials were cut into it late in 1917, debuting on 1918's master die. The initials were sharpened further in 1921, and that's the date on which they are most prominent. After that time they steadily eroded from the master hub until it was replaced in 1969. The periods following each letter appear to have worn away in the early 1930s and were not touched up.

[Henri Charriere]

 And here is the smug face of the know-it-all, Q.A., who up until now thought there was nothing more he could learn about a common cent that's been around longer than any of us have been alive.  Thanks for the enlightening post!

[VKurtB]

On 3/8/2021 at 6:56 PM, DWLange said:

The obverse master hub of 1916 was used for more than 50 years before being replaced. The initials were cut into it late in 1917, debuting on 1918's master die. The initials were sharpened further in 1921, and that's the date on which they are most prominent. After that time they steadily eroded from the master hub until it was replaced in 1969. The periods following each letter appear to have worn away in the early 1930s and were not touched up.

Wait. You mean there is another series other than French 20Fr gold roosters? Who knew?

[Henri Charriere]

10 hours ago, VKurtB said:

Wait. You mean there is another series other than French 20Fr gold roosters? Who knew?

That appears to be the case. And unlike the hoopla surrounding the IMHO rather unobtrusive display of V.D.B. on the reverse side of the cent, the name J.C. CHAPLAIN, the designer of the rooster, appears in all its glory on the obverse side, albeit in legible though inconspicuous print -- and not a soul crowed about it.