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What’s The Value Of Wheat Pennies? Find Out How Much All Wheat Pennies From 1909 To 1958 Are Worth!

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By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez

PUBLISHED: February 13, 2024
UPDATED: July 5, 2026

Wheat Penny Values Guide

“What’s the value of my wheat pennies?”

That’s the main question I keep getting here. And I’m glad this is so, because Lincoln cents have long been my specialty. 

In fact, that’s the first coin I ever collected. And, to this day, that’s the coin that I still focus my coin collecting efforts on.

What is the value of old wheat pennies today? Find out here.

When I was a new coin collector I, too, used to wonder what the value of wheat pennies was — simply because they’re obsolete coins that by the very nature of their being old are not seen in circulation very often anymore.

In fact, my first coin was a 1941 penny, with a value that was far less than I would’ve imagined for a coin so old (around 10 cents).

But I learned that not all wheat cents are worth so little. Many are worth quite a lot more than that.

In fact, some scarce wheat pennies are worth more than $1,000 apiece!

Still, though, you want to know what the value of your wheat pennies is.

If for nothing else than to satisfy your curiosity, this Lincoln wheat penny coin value guide is for you.

So, without further ado, here is information about the value of wheat pennies today. I hope you’re sitting down… yours may be worth the big bucks!

Wheat Penny Values Today

*Wheat pennies are assumed to be in grades of Good-4 (heavily worn with only a few major details showing).

Early Wheat Penny Values

1909 $3+1912-S $20+1916 30 cents
1909 VDB $10+1913 85+ cents1916-D $1+
1909-S $80+1913-D $3+1916-S $1.50+
 1909-S VDB $700+1913-S $12+1917 30+ cents
1910 50+ cents1914 75+ cents1917-D 80+ cents
1910-S $15+1914-D $175+1917-S 50+ cents
1911 45+ cents1914-S $20+1918 20+ cents
1911-D $5+1915 $1.50+1918-D 75+ cents
1911-S $40+1915-D $2+1918-S 50+ cents
1912 $1+1915-D $2+1919 20+ cents
1912-D $6+1915-S $20+1919-D 50+ cents
1919-S 20+ cents

1920s Wheat Penny Values

 1920 20+ cents1924 20+ cents1927 20+ cents
 1920-D 25+ cents1924-D $30+1927-D 50+ cents
1920-S 25+ cents1924-S $1+1927-S 50+ cents
1921 20+ cents1925 20+ cents1928 20+ cents
1921-S $1+1925-D 30+ cents1928-D 20+ cents
1922-D $15+1925-S 25+ cents1928-S 35+ cents
1922 plain $500+1926 20+ cents1929 20+ cents
1923 20+ cents1926-D 25+ cents1929-D 20+ cents
1923-S $2+1926-S $5+1929-S 20+ cents

1930s Wheat Penny Values

1930 15+ cents1933-D $2+1937 5+ cents
1930-D 20+ cents1934 5+ cents1937-D 10+ cents
1930-S 20+ cents1934-D 10+ cents1937-S 10+ cents
1931 35+ cents1935 5+ cents1938 10+ cents
1931-D $4+1935-D 10+ cents1938-D 20+ cents
1931-S $100+1935-S 15+ cents1938-S 40+ cents
1932 $1.50+1936 5+ cents1939 10+ cents
1932-D $1+1936-D 10+ cents1939-D 50+ cents
1933 $1+1936-S 15+ cents1939-S 15+ cents

1940s Wheat Penny Values

1940 5+ cents1943-D 10+ cents1946-S 10+ cents
1940-D 10+ cents1943-S 15+ cents1947 10+ cents
1940-S 10+ cents1944 5+ cents1947-D 10+ cents
1941 5+ cents1944-D 10+ cents1947-S 20+ cents
1941-D 5+ cents1944-S 10+ cents1948 5+ cents
1941-S 15+ cents1945 5+ cents1948-D 10+ cents
1942 5+ cents1945-D 10+ cents1948-S 15+ cents
1942-D 10+ cents1945-S 15+ cents1949 10+ cents
1942-S 15+ cents1946 5+ cents1949-D 10+ cents
1943 10+ cents1946-D 10+ cents1949-S 25+ cents

1950s Wheat Penny Values

1950 10+ cents1952-S 15+ cents1955-D 10+ cents
1950-D 10+ cents1953 5+ cents1955-S 15+ cents
1950-S 15+ cents1953-D 5+ cents1956 5+ cents
1951 5+ cents1953-S 10+ cents1956-D 5+ cents
1951-D 10+ cents1954 25+ cents1957 5+ cents
1951-S 25+ cents1954-D 5+ cents1957-D 5+ cents
1952 5+ cents1954-S 5+ cents1958 5+ cents
1952-D 10+ cents1955 5+ cents1958-D 5+ cents

IMPORTANT: What Is The Grade Of Your Wheat Penny?

To determine the value of your wheat penny, you first need to know what condition (or grade) your coin is in.

Grab a coin magnifier and a copy of the U.S. Coin Grading Standards book. Then, watch this video to see how to grade coins yourself at home:

These coin grading apps make grading coins yourself even easier.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, the value of your wheat penny is primarily dependent on its date — with scarcer years being worth much more than those that are more common.

However, wheat penny values also hinge on the individual coin’s state of preservation. The less wear your coin has, the more it is worth.

Because most people here at The Fun Times Guide are asking about values of wheat pennies they have found in pocket change, I decided to list the values for very low-grade coins. So, if you have a wheat penny in a higher grade, you can be confident that is almost surely worth more than the prices you see listed here.

Wondering about the current value of old wheat pennies? See what wheat cents from 1909 to 1958 are worth with this comprehensive Wheat Penny Values Guide.

No matter what the value of your wheat pennies may be, remember that all Lincoln cents made between 1909 and 1958 are now considered obsolete — so they’re worth hanging onto!

After all, these coins are becoming even scarcer, especially in circulation, and are increasingly valued by collectors who want to assemble complete sets of this highly popular coin.

TIP: You can often find valuable old wheat pennies while looking through rolls of coins from the bank! (It doesn’t cost anything to do this.)

Do you have an old wheat penny? Think there may be something unique about it? Post a picture of your wheat cent in the comments below and I’ll try to help!