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Coin “secrets”: initials, mint marks, and what is not a code
V.D.B. is Victor David Brenner’s name. A mint mark is a factory letter. Thirteen arrows are the first states. None of that is a hidden map. A shop will show you the letter and then weigh the coin.
People bring a wheat cent and a story about a secret.
Most of the time the “secret” is a designer’s initials or a mint mark. Those are public. They have been in books for a hundred years. Where is the mint mark?.
V.D.B. and other initials
V.D.B. on a 1909 Lincoln cent is Victor David Brenner. The first 1909 cents put his initials on the reverse. People complained. The Mint took them off, then put a tiny VDB on the shoulder later. 1909-S VDB is a key date because San Francisco made few of that first reverse, not because the letters are magic.
Other coins hide AS (Adolph Weinman), JF or a monogram (John Flanagan), GR (Gilroy Roberts) in the truncation of a bust. That is a signature. It is not a second mint.
What the pictures mean
Thirteen stars, thirteen arrows, thirteen olives: the first states. An olive branch and arrows: peace and readiness. Why US coins have eagles. In God We Trust first appeared on the 1864 two-cent piece during the Civil War, then spread. E Pluribus Unum is on the seal.
The pyramid and the eye are on the dollar bill, not on your dime. Mixing those up is how Facebook posts get written.
What is actually scarce
A mint mark plus a date plus a low mintage. A doubled die you can see without wishing. A details grade that someone listed as a mint error. Error-coin hype. Old is not rare.
We will show you the letter under a glass. Then we will talk about the coin. The letter is the start of the visit, not the price.
More on the coin and money library.
Open, closed, and eagles
If the “secret” is a gap in a wreath or a funny 3, that is a variety. If it is a skinny eagle versus a shield eagle, that is a type.