What Is A 1922 Wheat Back Penny Worth?

Mary left us a comment:

I have 1992 penny it has a leave with a 3 inside the leave. I was wondering if it is worth anything?”

Answer below…

Very few wheaties (wheat back pennies) have much value, however a variety of the 1922 happens to be one that does.

Here’s how to determine if your 1922 penny is worth just a few bucks or $500+.

That year the mint used 3 die pairs for the mint mark that had been totally worn out. As a result the 1st and 3rd dies produced what is called “weak Ds” because the D mint mark on them was very weak and hard to see. A 1922 weak D penny is worth about $35 -$50 depending on the grade of the coin.

Now… die no. 2 was so worn out it produced 1922 pennies with no D at all. Collectors call this a “1922 plain” and it is worth quite a bit more, anywhere from $500 – $15,000+ again depending on the grade of the coin. The regular 1922 D is worth about $20 and you should be able to see the D clearly and without a magnifying tool.

So, to sum this up… 1922 D $20.00 / 1922 “weak D” $35.00 – $50.00 / 1922 “plain D” $500.00 – $15,000+.

• Example of a “1922 plain” penny
• Example of a regular 1922-D penny

The “weak D” varieties you will usually need a magnifier to see. You might see or feel a small bump where the mint mark should be (right under the date).

Hope this post helps some of you.

Updated Value: 

The value of the popular 1922 plain cent remains higher than values for most other Wheat pennies.

According to the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), a 1922 Lincoln penny without the D mintmark is now worth about $500 in the grade of Good-4 and over $14,000 if uncirculated.

Talk about a pretty penny…