1909 Proof Cent Pattern - J-1930

Coin Details

Description

Judd-1930 is a proof cent pattern from 1909, the year Victor David Brenner's Lincoln cent replaced James B. Longacre's Indian Head design. The higher Judd number compared to J-1780 indicates this may be a later catalog addition, representing a design variant, trial die, or alternative composition striking discovered or reclassified after the primary sequence was established. The year 1909 saw extensive die preparation work at the Philadelphia Mint as Brenner's design was translated from his original sculptural models to working coinage dies. Chief Engraver Charles Barber, who had resisted Roosevelt's outside commissions for the gold coinage redesign just two years earlier, oversaw the technical adaptation of Brenner's Lincoln portrait for cent production. The famous V.D.B. initials controversy — Brenner's initials were prominently placed on the reverse and then hastily removed after public outcry about their size and visibility — generated additional die varieties and potential pattern strikings as the Mint scrambled to modify the design mid-production. This pattern preserves a moment from the most significant cent design transition since the Flying Eagle to Indian Head change fifty years earlier.

Rarity Notes

R-6 to R-7 (Very Rare to Extremely Rare). Cent patterns from 1909 are scarce, with this variety surviving in small single-digit numbers.

Cross References

Judd J-1930, Pollock P-2120