A lot of people want to know how the values of certain coins have increased over the years.
Historic pricing information can be equally exciting and frustrating (“I should have bought that coin years ago!” some may grumble to themselves).
It is always educational and informational to compare price charts of today to those of years ago.
See how Lincoln cents values have fared from 1994 to 2009.
15 Years Of Lincoln Cents
This piece is not intended to provide any investment advice to you (and is purely for entertainment and educational purposes).
But you may find it interesting how prices have increased over the past 15 years for certain Lincoln cents.
You will be able to gain more insight on overall, long-term market conditions. Investing in coins can be a highly risky endeavor, and no guide can predict the investment future of any coin.
Lincoln Penny Values In 1994 vs. In 2009
The following price information is derived from the 1994 and 2009 editions of A Guide Book of United States Coins, popularly called The Red Book. This price guide has been a popular, annual publication by R.S. Yeoman and Kenneth Bressett — long revered by all types of coin collectors.
| Year | Value | Condition | Priced Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 V.D.B. | $2 to $25 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1909 V.D.B. | $12 to $28 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1909-S V.D.B. | $290 to $600 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1909-S V.D.B. | $750 to $2,300 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1909-S | $35 to $200 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1909-S | $100 to $375 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1911-S | $16 to $225 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1911-S | $25 to $275 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1914-D | $80 to $1,200 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1944 |
| 1914-D | $215 to $3,500 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1914-S | $9 to $375 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1914-S | $20 to $550 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1922-D | $4.75 to $125 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1922-D | $14 to $160 | Good to Mint State 63 | 2009 |
| 1922 Plain (no mintmark) | $150 to $8,000 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1922 Plain (no mintmark) | $600 to $30,000 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1924-D | $10 to $350 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1924-D | $25 to $425 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1931-S | $32 to $95 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 1994 |
| 1931-S | $80 to $175 | Good to Mint-State 63 | 2009 |
| 1955 Doubled Die | $375 to $3,500 | Very Fine to Mint-State 65 | 1994 |
| 1955 Doubled Die | $1,200 to $12,500 | Very Fine to Mint State 65 | 2009 |
| 1972 Doubled Die Obverse | $250 | Mint-State 65 | 1994 |
| 1972 Doubled Die Obverse | $700 | Mint-State 65 | 2009 |
| 1983 Doubled Die Reverse | $200 | Mint-State 65 | 1994 |
| 1983 Doubled Die Reverse | $300 | Mint-State 65 | 2009 |
| 1993-D | $0.10 | Mint-State 65 | 1994 |
| 1993-D | $0.25 | Mint-State 65 | 2009 |
Lincoln Penny Prices On The Rise
All of the above coins saw price increases. Many of the dates actually saw a proportionately larger average price increase for circulated grades than for uncirculated grades during the 15-year time span.
There are many reasons this could be.
One likely theory is that many more people are able to afford circulated collections of Lincoln cents than are those who can assemble uncirculated versions — therefore, there would be more demand for the lower-grade coins.
Yet, for many dates of Lincoln cents during the early- to mid-20th century, nice uncirculated specimens are indeed very scarce.
What’s The Future For Lincoln Cents?
Without a doubt, time has been good from the investment standpoint of those who bought Lincoln cents years ago. Such has been the trend now for decades.
Scarce and rare dates of Lincoln cents have historically performed very well. The question really is, how will they do in the future?
The 2009 Bicentennial Lincoln cents certainly sparked interest in the series — even though Lincoln cents have been one of the most popular coins to collect for the past several decades.
The new reverse design in 2010 made the Memorial reverse an obsolete design. Still… many hundreds of millions of Memorial reverse cents will likely remain in circulation for a number of years to come.
When the penny almost inevitably does meet its end at some point down the road, this will also create more interest in the Lincoln cents series.
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
