GUIDE TO GRADING LINCOLN HEAD CENTS, WHEAT TYPE (1909-1958)

CAC PROVIDES PHOTOS TO GRADE YOUR COINS

- BY SCOTT A. TRAVERS PHOTOS SELECTED BY JACK VAUGHN, COURTESY CAC GRADING, LLC

For years, collectors have been striving to complete date sets of Lincoln Head coins.

The Wheat Stalk Lincoln cents, manufactured from 1909 through 1958, are among the most popularly collected coins in U.S. history. With the demise of the Lincoln cent on the horizon, attention has been focused on collecting and grading Lincoln cents like never before. Since 2008, grading service Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) has been putting its distinctive green holographic sticker on the holders of coins that are graded by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) that it feels are high-end or solid for the grade. But a couple of years ago, CAC transformed itself into a full grading and authentication service that encapsulates coins in sonically sealed, tamper-evident holders.

Illustrated here are examples of Wheat Stalk Lincoln cents graded by CAC. By comparing your Lincoln cents with these photos, you should be able to elevate your knowledge of grading from neophyte to informed amateur.

FERRETING OUT FAKES

In order for a coin to be certified it has to be both authenticated and graded. Certification by a grading service is a two-step process. First step: The coin has to be determined to be genuine and unaltered. Second step: The coin has to be graded or rated on a scale of one through 70, where one is the lowest and 70 is nearly perfect.

The popular 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent is one example of a rare-date coin occasionally found altered. The V.D.B. are the designer's initials, Victor David Brenner, seen on the coin's reverse. The “S” mint mark seen on the front, or obverse, under the date stands for San Francisco.

Alterations usually are in the form of an “S” mint mark added to a common 1909 V.D.B. Lincoln cent. Sometimes an “S” can be added to the obverse; other times it can be carved out of the field in an unused or empty area underneath the date.