Lincoln Wheat Cent Value Chart
Silver $30.50/oz · melt updated Jun 30, 2026
The Lincoln Wheat Cent (1909-1958), designed by Victor David Brenner, was the first US circulating coin to feature a real person and ran for 50 years with the wheat-ears reverse. Struck in 95% copper bronze except for the 1943 zinc-coated steel issue, the series is anchored by famous rarities like the 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 "plain" No-D, the 1943 bronze and 1944 steel transitional errors, and the 1955 Doubled Die Obverse. The five circulated keys to the early set are the 1909-S VDB, 1909-S, 1914-D, 1922 Plain, and 1931-S. It remains the most widely collected US coin series, making accurate date-and-mintmark identification essential. Note: no cents were struck at San Francisco in 1932-1934, and Philadelphia struck no 1922 cent (the 1922 "Plain" is a die error from a Denver die).
Key & semi-key dates to look for
1909 VDB1909-S1909-S VDB1910-S1911-D1911-S1912-D1912-S1913-D1913-S1914-D1914-S1915-S1921-S1922 No D (Strong Reverse)1922-D1923-S1924-D1924-S1926-S1927-S1928-S19311931-D1931-S19321932-D19331933-D1938-S1939-D1943 Bronze1944 Steel1955 Doubled Die Obverse
Red = key date · yellow = semi-key. Tap any for its value page. Everything else is a common date worth melt or a small premium.
| Date / mint | Mintage | Melt today | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | 72,702,618 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1909 VDB | 27,995,000 | $0.03 | First-year VDB variety, designer initials on reverse; modestly scarce |
| 1909-S | 1,825,000 | $0.03 | Low mintage, first-year S-mint key date |
| 1909-S VDB | 484,000 | $0.03 | Famous lowest-mintage key date ('King of Lincoln Cents') with VDB initials |
| 1910 | 146,801,218 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1910-S | 6,045,000 | $0.03 | Moderate S-mint mintage |
| 1911 | 101,177,787 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1911-D | 12,672,000 | $0.03 | Lower D-mint mintage |
| 1911-S | 4,026,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage; semi-key, not a true key |
| 1912 | 68,153,060 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1912-D | 10,411,000 | $0.03 | Lower D-mint mintage |
| 1912-S | 4,431,000 | $0.03 | Low S-mint mintage |
| 1913 | 76,532,352 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1913-D | 15,804,000 | $0.03 | Moderate D-mint mintage |
| 1913-S | 6,101,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage |
| 1914 | 75,238,432 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1914-D | 1,193,000 | $0.03 | Major key date, very low mintage |
| 1914-S | 4,137,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage; semi-key |
| 1915 | 29,092,120 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1915-D | 22,050,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1915-S | 4,833,000 | $0.03 | Low S-mint mintage |
| 1916 | 131,833,677 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1916-D | 35,956,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1916-S | 22,510,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1917 | 196,429,785 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1917-D | 55,120,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1917-S | 32,620,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1918 | 288,104,634 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1918-D | 47,830,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1918-S | 34,680,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1919 | 392,021,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1919-D | 57,154,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1919-S | 139,760,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1920 | 310,165,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1920-D | 49,280,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1920-S | 46,220,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1921 | 39,157,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1921-S | 15,274,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage; conditionally scarce in high grade |
| 1922 No D (Strong Reverse) | - | $0.03 | Famous 'No D' (Strong Reverse, Die Pair 2) die error from over-polished die; major rarity, ~15,000 survivors |
| 1922-D | 7,160,000 | $0.03 | Only mint striking cents in 1922 (no Philadelphia issue); source of the No-D error |
| 1923 | 74,723,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1923-S | 8,700,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage; scarce in mint state |
| 1924 | 75,178,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1924-D | 2,520,000 | $0.03 | Low mintage key date |
| 1924-S | 11,696,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage |
| 1925 | 139,949,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1925-D | 22,580,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1925-S | 26,380,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1926 | 157,088,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1926-D | 28,020,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1926-S | 4,550,000 | $0.03 | Low mintage; extreme rarity in gem mint state (famous condition rarity) |
| 1927 | 144,440,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1927-D | 27,170,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1927-S | 14,276,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage |
| 1928 | 134,116,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1928-D | 31,170,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1928-S | 17,266,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage; Large S and Small S subvarieties exist |
| 1929 | 185,262,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1929-D | 41,730,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1929-S | 50,148,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1930 | 157,415,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1930-D | 40,100,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1930-S | 24,286,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1931 | 19,396,000 | $0.03 | Lower Depression-era mintage |
| 1931-D | 4,480,000 | $0.03 | Low Depression-era mintage; popular semi-key |
| 1931-S | 866,000 | $0.03 | Famous low-mintage key date; one of only two sub-million regular Lincoln cents |
| 1932 | 9,062,000 | $0.03 | Low Depression-era mintage |
| 1932-D | 10,500,000 | $0.03 | Lower mintage |
| 1933 | 14,360,000 | $0.03 | Lower Depression-era mintage |
| 1933-D | 6,200,000 | $0.03 | Low Depression-era mintage; popular semi-key |
| 1934 | 219,080,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1934-D | 28,446,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1935 | 245,388,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1935-D | 47,000,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1935-S | 38,702,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1936 | 309,632,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1936-D | 40,620,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1936-S | 29,130,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1937 | 309,170,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1937-D | 50,430,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1937-S | 34,500,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1938 | 156,682,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1938-D | 20,010,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1938-S | 15,180,000 | $0.03 | Lower S-mint mintage but common |
| 1939 | 316,479,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1939-D | 15,160,000 | $0.03 | Lower D-mint mintage but common |
| 1939-S | 52,070,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1940 | 586,810,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1940-D | 81,390,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1940-S | 112,940,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1941 | 887,018,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1941-D | 128,700,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1941-S | 92,360,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1942 | 657,796,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1942-D | 206,698,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1942-S | 85,590,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1943 | 684,628,670 | - | Common date |
| 1943 Bronze | - | $0.03 | Famous off-metal transitional error: bronze planchet struck in steel-cent year; ~10-15 known |
| 1943-D | 217,660,000 | - | Common date |
| 1943-S | 191,550,000 | - | Common date |
| 1944 | 1,435,400,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1944 Steel | - | - | Famous off-metal transitional error: leftover steel planchet in bronze year; ~30 known |
| 1944-D | 430,578,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1944-S | 282,760,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1945 | 1,040,515,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1945-D | 266,268,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1945-S | 181,770,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1946 | 991,655,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1946-D | 315,690,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1946-S | 198,100,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1947 | 190,555,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1947-D | 194,750,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1947-S | 99,000,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1948 | 317,570,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1948-D | 172,637,500 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1948-S | 81,735,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1949 | 217,775,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1949-D | 153,132,500 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1949-S | 64,290,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1950 | 272,635,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1950-D | 334,950,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1950-S | 118,505,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1951 | 284,576,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1951-D | 625,355,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1951-S | 136,010,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1952 | 186,775,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1952-D | 746,130,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1952-S | 137,800,004 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1953 | 256,755,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1953-D | 700,515,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1953-S | 181,835,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1954 | 71,640,050 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1954-D | 251,552,500 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1954-S | 96,190,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1955 | 330,958,200 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1955 Doubled Die Obverse | - | $0.03 | Famous 1955 Doubled Die Obverse; estimated ~20,000-24,000 released |
| 1955-D | 563,257,500 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1955-S | 44,610,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1956 | 420,745,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1956-D | 1,098,201,100 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1957 | 282,540,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1957-D | 1,051,342,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1958 | 252,525,000 | $0.03 | Common date |
| 1958-D | 800,953,300 | $0.03 | Common date |
Melt value is computed live from the coin's fine-metal content and today's spot price; it is the price floor. Collector value above melt depends on grade - open a key date's page for recent sold prices. Methodology.