CoinTalk Members Say a 1909-VDB Cent Sold as a 'Red Gem BU' Appears Whizzed
On the CoinTalk forum, a member who bought a 1909-VDB cent advertised as a "red gem BU" from a stock-photo listing asked whether the coin had been polished. Most members who replied said it appeared whizzed, meaning mechanically buffed to create a false shine. The buyer, who paid about $50, returned the coin.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We rewrote the headline, summary and body to match the source forum thread. We removed material not in the source, including counterfeit-detection advice, a claimed 15 to 30 percent premium for certified coins, five-figure valuations, composition and magnetism notes, and investment advice and forecasts urging certification; and we restated members' views as individual opinions rather than a unanimous or confirmed finding. The previous headline was "1909 VDB Penny Authentication: Key for New Collectors."
This article summarizes posts in a thread on the CoinTalk collectors' forum titled "Did I just make a rookie mistake...1909 VDB cent." The date of the posts is not given in the source. Statements about the coin's condition and value are the opinions of individual forum members, not findings of a grading service.
A coin sold as a "red gem BU"
The original poster, The Meat man, bought a 1909-VDB cent advertised as a "red gem BU." The seller used a stock photo, so he could not see the actual coin before buying it.
When the coin arrived, it was bright and shiny red. But he wrote that it looked heavily cleaned or polished. He pointed to sharply outlined letters on the reverse and a "pebbled" surface texture, and asked other members whether it might be whizzed.
Members say the coin appears whizzed
Most members who replied said the coin looked whizzed. johnmilton wrote, "I believe the coin has been whizzed," and noted that a Mint State coin should not have digs in the field. alurid and Collecting Nut also said it looked whizzed to them.
SensibleSal66 explained the term: a whizzed cent has been mechanically buffed, often with a wire brush or Dremel tool, to create a false shine. He wrote that this strips away the coin's natural surface and permanently destroys its luster and value.
The Half Dime wrote that the coin looked polished or whizzed and appeared to be AU details, and that an AU details coin is "possibly a $5-7 coin."
The buyer returns the coin and wins another
The buyer returned the coin. He said he had paid about $50, "low enough that it should have been a red flag." He also wrote that nice slabbed red examples in Mint State appear to start at around $100.
johnmilton posted his own 1909-VDB cent, graded NGC MS-65 Red, and wrote that these coins were saved by the roll and are frequently available. lordmarcovan wrote that he does not buy from a stock photo or with no photo.
About three days later, the buyer reported that he had won a nicer example on eBay for roughly the same cost as the first coin.
Source: CoinTalk, "Did I just make a rookie mistake...1909 VDB cent."
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