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For 50 years we used the Lincoln Memorial penny.
However, in 2009, the Lincoln cent underwent a major redesign that permanently removed the Lincoln Memorial design from our pennies.
While most Lincoln Memorial pennies are worth only face value if worn and only 5 to 25 cents if uncirculated, there are a few special Lincoln Memorial cents that are worth hundreds — even thousands — of dollars.
Here are the values of 5 Lincoln Memorial pennies you should be keeping an eye out for:
- 1969-S Doubled Die cent: $50,000 or more in uncirculated grades
- 1970-S Small Date cent: $50 in Mint State 63
- 1984 Doubled Die cent: $75 and up in uncirculated grades
- 1990 Proof No-S cent: $3,000 and up
- 1995 Doubled Die cent: $10 to $25 in uncirculated grades
3 Other Rare Lincoln Memorial Pennies Worth Big Bucks
The Lincoln Memorial cents listed above are some of the most popular rare pennies you can find in your pocket change or while cherrypicking No-S proof coins from proof sets.
Following are 3 other valuable Lincoln pennies that have recently been discovered by coin collectors. (These are actually some of the most valuable error-variety coins around!)
The first one is:
This rare coin, first reported in 2016, has become one of the most important coins collectors are looking for in circulation!
In fact, the anonymous collector who found the first-known 1982-D Small Date Lincoln Memorial copper penny did so by searching through $50 face value bags of pennies. The lucky penny collector believes many other 1982-D Small Date copper Lincoln pennies (possibly even hundreds!) are out there.
If you hope to find one, you’ll need a scale that can measure in increments of 100th of a gram. A 1982-D Small Date copper Lincoln Memorial penny should weigh around 3.11 grams, give or take a few hundredths of a gram.
It would take meticulous searching to find one of these rare pennies, but the effort is worth it! The 1982-D Small Date copper Lincoln Memorial cent sold for $18,800 in 2017.
Two other rare, off-metal Lincoln Memorial pennies are also known:
You could spend hours looking for these coins and come up empty handed, but don’t despair. These rare pennies are not found easily — but they’re worth every last moment of searching.
The 1983-D copper Lincoln Memorial cent sold for some $15,000, while the 1989-D copper penny has traded hands for $3,000!
How To Find Rare Memorial Pennies
Some of the best ways to look for the rare Lincoln Memorial cents mentioned in this article (or other valuable pennies) is to look through penny rolls, boxes, and bags from the bank.
These can be obtained for face value and provide many hours of treasure-hunting — and, on occasion, lead to amazing treasures like the rare pennies listed above.
Good luck!
See what I found after searching through a can of old bronze Lincoln pennies:
More Info About Lincoln Memorial Penny Values
Don’t have one of the above Lincoln cents? Here are some of our articles to help you find the value of other Lincoln Memorial pennies:
- Zincolns: Tips For Collecting Lincoln Zinc Pennies
- Tips For Collecting Proof Lincoln Memorial Cents
- Which Old Pennies Are Worth The Most?
- 10 Valuable Pennies You Should Be Looking For
- Lincoln Memorial Penny Valued From 1-Cent to $50,000+
- What Is An Old Penny Worth?
- 7 Rare Wheat Pennies Worth Collecting
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 CDN Publishing (a trusted source for the price of U.S. rare coins), 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 also authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins — and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
