The 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent is perhaps the most famous of all issues in this long-running series. The lowest-mintage regular-issue piece with a mintage of only 484,000, it is still available with relative regularity and many examples are available under the same roof at any given large coin'show. Still, many Lincoln cent enthusiasts consider this coin the holy grail of numismatics and it is without a doubt one of the most sought-after coins around.

The 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent saw such a low mintage because public outcry over the prominently displayed initials of the coin's designer, Victor David Brenner (VDB), caused the removal of the offending VDB inscription from the bottom-center of the coin's reverse shortly after this issue debuted. However, many in the public were aware of the controversy and hoarded 1909-S VDB pennies in large numbers. According to numismatic experts, some 20,000 specimens exist, making it a rarity that can be acquired for a cost. In RD uncirculated grades, the situation becomes a little different. Examples become tough above MS65RD, with MS66RD proving a very challenging threshold. These coins are extremely rare in MS67RD or higher.