1909–1942: Lincoln Wheat Cent (Variety 2: "V.D.B." Initials Removed)

1909–1942: Lincoln Wheat Cent (Variety 2: "V.D.B." Initials Removed) history

After the V.D.B. initials were removed in 1909, the wheat-reverse Lincoln cent continued in bronze through 1942. Denver joined cent production in 1911 and San Francisco remained active, creating a long run of branch-mint issues.

This page ends before the 1943 steel composition, so every listed subtype specification uses the 3.11-gram bronze standard. Date, mintmark, wheat detail, and original copper surfaces distinguish individual issues.

1909–1942 Wheat cent notes

After the V.D.B. initials were removed in 1909, the wheat reverse continued without them through 1942. Brenner's initials returned in 1918 in much smaller form on the truncation of Lincoln's shoulder, not on the reverse.

Set structure: The principal regular issues include 1914-D and 1931-S. Denver was the only mint to strike cents dated 1922; the collectible No D variety resulted from die deterioration and corrective abrasion, so attribution requires the correct obverse and reverse die pairing rather than a missing mint mark alone.

Variety and strike diagnostics: Major doubled-die issues include 1917 and 1936. Early San Francisco cents frequently show uneven strike detail, while copper color designations require particular attention to spotting, fingerprints, and recolored surfaces.