1909 S VDB Lincoln Cent Grade AU Details – Improperly Cleaned Certified. The obverse or heads side was designed by Victor David Brenner, as was the original reverse. In January 1909, the Mint engaged Brenner to design a cent depicting the late President Abraham Lincoln, 1909 being the centennial year of his birth. Brenner’s design was eventually approved, and the new coins were issued to great public interest on August 2, 1909. Brenner’s initials (VDB), on the reverse at its base, were deemed too prominent once the coins were issued, and were removed within days of the release. The coins that were released bearing the initials VDB are the rarest of any of the Lincoln cents and fetch a high price among coin collectors. The initials were restored, this time smaller, on Lincoln’s shoulder, in 1918.