Lincoln Wheat Cents: See The Values Of Wheat Penny Key Dates

by

Joshua

Coin Values, Hobbies & Crafts

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lincoln-cents-valuesIf there is one coin I have loved since I was kid, it is the Lincoln penny.

This versatile little coin has been struck by the United States Mint since 1909, and over the years has become one of the most popular coins in the whole world.

The values of many Lincoln cents far exceed their face value, making them highly demanded by both collectors and investors.

Like many coin collectors, I especially pursue Lincoln wheat cents, which have two stalks of wheat on the reverse side of the coin symbolizing national prosperity.

Lincoln wheat pennies were struck from 1909 to 1958 and are becoming highly scarce in circulation. When I was much younger and didn’t know the values of Lincoln wheat cents, I thought all old pennies were highly valuable. I have since learned that while all Lincoln wheat pennies carry a premium in value, only a few dozen dates are worth significantly more than a few cents in well-worn condition.

 

Which Lincoln Pennies Have The Highest Values?

1909 S VDB Lincoln Cent

You’ve probably heard about the 1909 penny made in San Francisco bearing the letters VDB, the initials of Lincoln cent designer Victor David Brenner.

The 1909 S VDB Lincoln cent is, in fact, one of the most well-known pennies — if not the most popular rare coin, period.

The 1909 S VDB penny has probably been on almost every coin collector’s wish list at some point in time, including my own.

And with a price tag of at least $900 to $1,000 even for a specimen in highly worn condition and a mintage of only 484,000, this key date Lincoln cent can seem out of reach for many of the millions of coin collectors who want one.

 

1922 Plain Lincoln Cent

Another Lincoln cent with a high value is the 1922 plain cent.

While no Lincoln pennies were made at the Philadelphia mint in 1922, many collectors had originally thought the case to be otherwise when people started finding 1922 pennies without an apparent mintmark back in the day.

As it turned out, repairs to a die at the Denver mint (the only location to strike Lincoln cents in 1922) caused the D mintmark to be virtually obliterated.

The 1922 no mintmark Lincoln cent variety remains a popular collectible today and has a value of around $650 and up.

 

1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent

Another highly valuable Lincoln cent variety is the 1955 doubled die.

This penny is sought after by many coin collectors and has a value of around $1,200 and up.

While most were scooped up from pocket change by coin collectors many years ago, a few may still exist in circulation channels. I’m still trying to find one of these elusive coins!

 

1943 Copper Lincoln Cent

The most valuable Lincoln cent, however, is an error coin that was minted in 1943 — the year the U.S. Mint struck over a billion steel pennies to save copper for ammunition efforts during World War II.

Around 30 copper penny planchets left over from 1942 penny production reserves were struck with a 1943-dated Lincoln cent die.

Today, the highly rare 1943 copper Lincoln cent commands an auction price of more than $100,000.

 

Values Of Other Key Date & Semi-Key Date Lincoln Cents

While the 1909 S VDB penny, 1922 plain cent, 1955 doubled die penny, and 1943 copper Lincoln all rank as among the most valuable old pennies, they are by no means the only ones worth holding on to!

In fact, there are many rare wheat pennies that are worth hundreds of times their face value, and a plethora of others that are worth $1 to $5 or more — even in well worn condition.

These key date and semi-key date Lincoln cents include the following:

  • 1909 VDB $10 and up
  • 1909 S $100
  • 1910 S $15
  • 1911 D $5
  • 1911 S $40
  • 1912 D $5
  • 1912 S $20
  • 1913 D $2
  • 1913 S $11
  • 1914 D $165
  • 1914 S $20
  • 1915 $1
  • 1915 D $2
  • 1915 S $17
  • 1924 D $35
  • 1931 D $3
  • 1931 S $100
  • 1932 $1
  • 1933 $1
  • 1933 S $2

The values listed above are for undamaged Lincoln cents in well worn condition. Examples in higher grades are worth considerably more.

Most other Lincoln wheat penny dates that are not listed above are worth less than a dollar in worn condition.

However, even if you have any of the more common Lincoln wheat pennies — such as those from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s — you will still want to hang onto them. These vintage Lincoln pennies are getting scarcer every day, and may eventually be worth more!

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70 thoughts on “Lincoln Wheat Cents: See The Values Of Wheat Penny Key Dates”

    • Hi, Diane –

      Ooh, how do they look different? It might be a weak strike and therefore they look faded. But, can’t tell without seeing the coin exactly what is going on, so if you could post a photo of it here in the comments forum, that would be great. Thanks!

      Reply

      • I have a 1913 s semi key date penny with the 2nd t in trust missing anyone tell me the value its in x fine ++ cond. thanks

        Reply

        • Hello, Frank –

          It’s very possible that die weakness caused the “T” to appear missing; this is not that uncommon for early branch-mint Lincoln cents, which are notorious for being weakly struck. Without seeing your coin, I would say it is worth a typical value for a 1913-S, which is approximately $12 for a coin in Good-4.

          Reply

    • Actually, melting pennies is currently illegal. I advise anyone with wheat pennies to appreciate them for what they are, and to buy copper goods at retailers.

      Reply

  3. I am not really a Collector…but I have saved cans of coins. I really dread dumping out those 3lb coffee cans. I do have one can about 1/2 full of just Wheat Pennies. Your site has been a FUN learning site for me…maybe I am inspired to dump out at least one of the cans and sort thru them. Thanks for an informative site…and fun clicking….

    Reply

  5. Hi I’m Brent I got a 1953 s wheat penny the thing that got me confused is when I turn it over the back is up side down I would like to know if it is worth anything thanks

    Reply

  6. This site dose nothing but tell u varry little I have been asking about coin now and have not got any reply back so this site no good

    Reply

    • Hello Parker,

      I see why your coin is so light-colored. It actually wasn’t struck in brass but, instead, has been cleaned. The cleaning stripped away the coin’s natural coloration.

      Cleaned 1955 pennies are worth about 3 cents.

      Thank you for your question and for sending that great pic!

      Reply

        • Hi, Tonya —

          The general answer in all cases is yes, coins are always worth more uncleaned and with natural patina than uncleaned. In the case of your pieces, the value difference would have been mere cents given their commonness.

          All the best,
          Josh

          Reply

    • Hello, Dawn —

      1952 and 1955 wheat pennies are worth 3 to 5 cents each, based on how much wear they have.

      Thanks for your question,
      Josh

      Reply

    • Hi, Jenn —

      A worn 1943 Philadelphia steel cent is worth 10 to 25 cents.

      Thanks for your question,
      Josh

      Reply

    • Hi, Tonya —

      A light impression appears to be there of the “VDB”; while the VDB is usually stronger than that, I’ve seen several Lincoln cents of that era on which the designer initials are quite weak. As I understand from my research on this this is not uncommon. I would hang onto the piece anyway as a curiosity.

      Best,
      Josh

      Reply

  15. I just recently started checking all of my pennies. I found the my grandfather had a growler full of mainly wheat pennies.
    Thank you for the information on them.
    I’ll share what I find.

    Reply

  16. Hi I have a 1941-D wheat penny with the n missing in the name where it says UNUM well the N is missing what can this be worth? I checked it with a Jewelry magnifying glass it looks like it just fell off or wasn’t put there

    Reply

    • Hi, Linda —

      This definitely looks like a mint-made error — most likely a filled die issue. Such piece could be worth $5 to $10 or more for a collector looking for such an error.

      Nice find!
      Josh

      Reply

  17. I have a 1990 no mint mark. I searched it already but just wanted another opinion. The color is much more bright, unlike the other 1990 pennies I have compared to. Ther she’s are very prominate and show very little signs of ware. What do you think? Unfortunately it is not letting me upload a picture

    Reply

    • Hi, Ryan –

      Unfortunately I won’t be able to say for certain without seeing a photo. However, if you found this coin in pocket change, it is most likely a 1990 Philadelphia (no mintmark) cent worth face value, not the collector’s edition proof cent from San Francisco without a mintmark. If you can upload the image though I will be glad to make sure!

      Best,
      Josh

      Reply

    • Hi, Maxim —

      This may be a filled die error or post-mint damage, but I really can’t tell which without seeing a photo of the coin, please. Usually missing digits on coins don’t fetch a tremendous premium over regular numismatic values. Such pieces as yours, if the missing digit is due to a filled die, are worth $2 to $3 in heavily worn condition. Also, in this case, the lack of a mintmark indicates the coin was minted in Philadelphia.

      Best,
      Josh

      Reply

        • Hi, Maxim —

          There is a light indication of where the “1” should be in the date, but I don’t seem to see any signs of damage around the site, suggesting it may have been obliterated due to a die issue. The likely situation was that the “1” part of the die was filled with grease or other debris. For the most part, there usually isn’t a great premium in price for missing digits, but some error collectors will pay for such anomalies. You could perhaps earn $5 or more based on demand.

          Best,
          Josh

          Reply

    • Hi, Theresa!

      Talk about two classic United States coins… Your 1921 Morgan dollar is presently worth about $18 and the 1941 Mercury dime is valued at $2.50 to $3.

      Nice pieces!
      Josh

      Reply

  20. I have several Mercury dimes and I was wondering the value of them. I have 5 of them dated 1945, 4 of them dated 1944, 1 dated 1938, 1 dated 1943 and 3 of them dated 1942.

    Reply

  21. I have several Mercury dimes and I was wondering the value of them. I have 5 of them dated 1945, 4 of them dated 1944, 1 dated 1938, 1 dated 1943 and 3 of them dated 1942.
    Can you help?

    Reply

    • Hi, Angela —

      The values are pretty uniform across the circulated grades of the Mercury dimes you listed, and each of the pieces in the photo is presently worth about $2 to $2.25. So, in total, I would put the value of your Mercury dime collection around $28.

      Thank you of your question and photos!

      Reply

  22. I have a 1953 penny no D or S. And it Has one cent printed on the back with United States of America on it. 2 feathers an nothing else. Does anyone know the value of it?

    Reply

    • Hello, Rose —

      It sounds like you’re describing a 1953 Philadelphia (no mintmark) Lincoln wheat cent. THey are worth about 5 to 10 cents if worn.

      Thank you for your question!
      Josh

      Reply

  23. Hi I have some Wheat pennies dated 1944, 1946, 1948. And think one is 1911, hard to see the date. What are their value. Thanks

    Reply

  24. First time to your site. Have a wheat collection my dad started when he was a kid (he’s 63 now). I was reading about the ’43 steel pennies and I’m quite astonished at your stated value. I’ve got maybe a dozen at least. Would it be worth trying to sell some?

    Reply

    • Hello, Tameka —

      A 1940 Lincoln cent with no damage but with a typical amount of wear for its age is worth about 5 to 10 cents.

      Thank you for checking in!
      Josh

      Reply

    • Hello, Danny!

      Based on what I can tell in the photo, this appears to be a Micro O variety. Presuming this to be the case, and calling this an AU-50 for conservative grading purposes (it looks like this coin may have original surfaces, too), this coin could easily be sold to a coin dealer for $700 to $800, maybe even more.

      Amazing find!
      Josh

      Reply

    • Hi, Holly —

      It sounds like your coin is altered but I’d be happy to take a look if you want to post photos of the coin.

      Thank you,
      Josh

      Reply

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