COOL COIN SHOWCASE, #5, April 11, 2026
- desertmoonnm
- Apr 11
- 4 min read
Matte Proof Lincoln Cents
Hi Folks,
As we near the next big show, the Central States Numismatic Society annual convention, we are generally in ‘hoard’ mode for new cool coins at Desert Moon. We have purchased quite a few newps since the March Newsletter, and these will be discussed in the CSNS pre-show April Newsletter sometime next week.
For this edition of the Cool Coin Showcase, we will talk about, and present to you, 2 Lincoln Matte Proofs. Besides these 2, we have only offered one other matte proof since Desert Moon started in mid-2024. We think the Lincoln Matte Proofs are a very special group of coins. We try to find the nicest for the grade examples, and we remain very picky about these, yet always on the lookout for them. So a little bit about these wonderful coins follows here.
Lincoln Matte Proofs were minted only from 1909 to 1916 from the onset of the new cent series that replaced the Indian Cents. They represent a departure from the brilliant and more traditional proof coppers of earlier series that had mirror-like finishes in the fields and frosty devices giving a cameo look that came out well in the best struck examples when the dies were fresh. The best dies were picked out to mint the matte proofs. The matte finishes were the result of sandblasting and acid treatment of these dies to hide minor imperfections that would come out on the coins during striking, thus giving more consistent surfaces of the minted coppers with a very different look than previous proofs. The resultant surface texture of the dies gives a granular appearance to the coins. Hence no Cameo look for the devices as with the more traditional mirrored proofs. Because more pressure was used to mint the matte proofs than with business strikes, the coin details are stronger, and the rims are broad and flat, with sharp edges. These characteristics give the matte proofs a distinct look and with practice can be distinguished from MS business strikes. Diagnostic features that are characteristic of the different dies used that transfer to the coins are also implemented in cases where a matte proof example (or not) is not straightforward. Some say these are the most visually appealing of all Lincoln Cents and for sure they are stunners, especially those that have made it this far in time that meet the expectations of CAC. In either case, they represent a unique group of rare Lincoln Cents that are beauty to behold.
As with all early proofs, they were minted in limited quantities. There are 9 issues of Lincoln Matte proofs. In 1909, the VDB reverse was first used, with a mintage of 1,194. After that, a 1909 without VDB reverse was issued with a mintage of 2,618. From 1910 to 1913, mintages ranged in the low thousands from 1,725 in 1911 to a high of 4,118 in 1910. For the last 3 years of the series, the mintages tapered off to 1,365 in 1914, 1,150 in 1915, to the lowest of all the series in 1916 of 1,050. For the best quality for the grade examples that meet CAC expectations today, the 1909 VDB stands out as significantly more limited in quantity. Only 27 examples of the VDB matte proof have made it to CAC/CACG standards in the brown, red brown, and red color designations. For the rest of the series, CAC/CACG coins number in the 100-200 range for each year, with the lowest being the 1916 which number 74.
As expected, the prices for matte proofs scale with rarity, and the 1909 VDB in any grade and color designation being around 25x more expensive than the rest of the series and the 1916 about 2x. Perusing the PCGS Price Guide, it appears that now is a good time to obtain a Lincoln matte proof. These maxed out in price from about 2008-2011 where they were 50 to 100% higher in price than presently. Prices underwent a steady decline from then until the early 2020’s when covid hit. From this time, with the new flux of coin collectors, inflation, and all other factors that have affected the coin market, prices for the matte proofs have been slowly but steadily on the uprise. For example, a 1914 in PR65RB has gone from $1600 in 2020 to $1650 presently, but still down from the max at $2150 in 2010. This price change over time is similar in comparison to examples for other grades and years as can be perused in the PCGS Price Guide. So the prices are presently at good value, but as more collectors discover this short and rare series and want one or more for their Lincoln Cent, Proof or Type, collections, we expect the prices to continue to steadily increase.
The previous example we had was a 1916 and is illustrated on the Desert Moon Archive Page. The 2 we are offering presently are shown below. Please have a look at the descriptions of these cool coins offered here by following the links provided beneath the images below.
As always, please contact us through desertmoonnm@yahoo.com if you have an interest in any of our coins.
Thanks for reading!
Best, DM
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