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“What’s the value of my wheat pennies?”
That’s the main question I keep getting here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins — 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 the coin that — to this day — I still focus my coin collecting efforts on.
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 were not seen in circulation very often.
In fact, my first coin was a 1941 penny, with a value that was far less than I would’ve imagined (around 10 cents) for a coin so old. But I learned that not all wheat cents are worth so little.
As I soon learned, some scarce wheat pennies are worth lots of money, and many more Lincoln cents barely register a value above the intrinsic one-cent denomination.
Still, though, you want to know what the value of your wheat pennies is — if for nothing else than to satisfy your curiosity (some are worth $1000 or more!), then a Lincoln coin value guide is a must-read for you.
So, without further ado, here is information on the value of wheat pennies – hope you’re sitting down, yours may be worth the big bucks!
Wheat Penny Values
*Pennies are assumed to be in grades of Good-4 (heavily worn with only a few major details showing). Values are based on several sources, including information from A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman, and PCGS online price guide.
Early 1900s Lincoln Cents
• 1909 $4
• 1909 VDB $12
• 1909-S $100
• 1909-S VDB $780
• 1910 50 cents
• 1910-S $15
• 1911 45 cents
• 1911-D $6
• 1911-S $40
• 1912 $1.25
• 1912-D $7
• 1912-S $22
• 1913 85 cents
• 1913-D $3
• 1913-S $12
• 1914 75 cents
• 1914-D $200
• 1914-S $22
• 1915 $1.75
• 1915-D $2
• 1915-S $20
• 1916 30 cents
• 1916-D $1
• 1916-S $1.75
• 1917 30 cents
• 1917-D 80 cents
• 1917-S 50 cents
• 1918 20 cents
• 1918-D 75 cents
• 1918-S 50 cents
• 1919 20 cents
• 1919-D 50 cents
• 1919-S 20 cents
1920s Lincoln Cents
• 1920 20 cents
• 1920-D 25 cents
• 1920-S 25 cents
• 1921 20 cents
• 1921-S $1.25
• 1922-D $15
• 1922 plain $650
• 1923 20 cents
• 1923-S $2.50
• 1924 20 cents
• 1924-D $35
• 1924-S $1
• 1925 20 cents
• 1925-D 30 cents
• 1925-S 25 cents
• 1926 20 cents
• 1926-D 25 cents
• 1926-S $6
• 1927 20 cents
• 1927-D $1
• 1927-S $1
• 1928 20 cents
• 1928-D 20 cents
• 1928-S 35 cents
• 1929 20 cents
• 1929-D 20 cents
• 1929-S 20 cents
1930s Lincoln Cents
• 1930 15 cents
• 1930-D 20 cents
• 1930-S 20 cents
• 1931 35 cents
• 1931-D $4
• 1931-S $110
• 1932 $1.50
• 1932-D 80 cents
• 1933 $1
• 1933-D $2
• 1934 15 cents
• 1934-D 20 cents
• 1935 15 cents
• 1935-D 15 cents
• 1935-S 15 cents
• 1936 15 cents
• 1936-D 15 cents
• 1936-S 15 cents
• 1937 15 cents
• 1937-D 15 cents
• 1937-S 15 cents
• 1938 15 cents
• 1938-D 20 cents
• 1938-S 40 cents
• 1939 15 cents
• 1939-D 50 cents
• 1939-S 15 cents
1940s Lincoln Cents
• 1940 15 cents
• 1940-D 15 cents
• 1940-S 15 cents
• 1941 15 cents
• 1941-D 15 cents
• 1941-S 15 cents
• 1942 15 cents
• 1942-D 15 cents
• 1942-S 20 cents
• 1943 30 cents
• 1943-D 35 cents
• 1943-S 40 cents
• 1944 10 cents
• 1944-D 10 cents
• 1944-S 15 cents
• 1945 10 cents
• 1945-D 10 cents
• 1945-S 15 cents
• 1946 10 cents
• 1946-D 10 cents
• 1946-S 15 cents
• 1947 10 cents
• 1947-D 10 cents
• 1947-S 20 cents
• 1948 10 cents
• 1948-D 10 cents
• 1948-S 20 cents
• 1949 10 cents
• 1949-D 10 cents
• 1949-S 25 cents
1950s Lincoln Cents
• 1950 10 cents
• 1950-D 10 cents
• 1950-S 15 cents
• 1951 10 cents
• 1951-D 10 cents
• 1951-S 25 cents
• 1952 10 cents
• 1952-D 10 cents
• 1952-S 15 cents
• 1953 10 cents
• 1953-D 10 cents
• 1953-S 10 cents
• 1954 25 cents
• 1954-D 10 cents
• 1954-S 10 cents
• 1955 10 cents
• 1955-D 10 cents
• 1955-S 20 cents
• 1956 10 cents
• 1956-D 10 cents
• 1957 10 cents
• 1957-D 10 cents
• 1958 10 cents
• 1958-D 10 cents
As you can see, the value of your wheat pennies is primarily dependent on its date, with scarcer years being worth much more than those that are more common. However, the value of your wheat pennies will also hinge on its 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.
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 and are worth hanging onto. After all, these coins are becoming scarcer, especially in circulation, and are increasingly valued by coin collectors who want to assemble complete sets of this highly popular coin.
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!
