Past Times the truncation of Lincoln’s shoulder. Many collectors are unaware that the VDB is on our present issue of cents—the letters are so tiny that a magnifying glass must be used to see them clearly.

$20 gold piece; the ‘M’ for Morgan on the Liberty head silver dollars, and ‘B’ for Barber on the Liberty head dimes, quarters and half-dollars.

“Victor Brenner did express his opinion relating to this matter in a letter to Farran Zerbe, one of the most prominent numismatists of the time. Brenner said in part:

“‘Much fume has been made about my initials as a means of advertisement;

such is not the case. The very talk the initials has brought out has done more good for numismatics than it could do me personally… The original design had BRENNER on it, and that was changed to the initials. Of course, the issue rests with the Numismatic bodies ...’

“The injustice of the omission was finally recognized in 1918 and the initials were restored inconspicuously in that year at

“Victor D. Brenner died on April 25, 1924, at the age of 53. But his Lincoln cents continue to flow from the mints by the hundreds of millions each year.”