Featured Wheats Cents/Pennies: Full Profile (with pictures)

The Wheat Penny/Cent: The Wheat Penny/Cent is one of the most well-known coins in U.S history, minted from 1909-1958. Buyers of all range of wealth can spend on common dates (such as the 1944 copper cent or the 1958 cent) or Key Dates (such as the 1909 S VDB or the 1914-D cent). Wheat Cent hoards are common and will continue to grow in value as long as the coins continue to grow in popularity and collectors' value. Before we need to know about the specific dates, however, we need to learn about the designer.

Victor David Brenner- Victor David Brenner was born in Lithuania in 1871, by the name of Viktoras Baranauskas. At age 19, he immigrated to America as his father had done years before. Unable to find a job, he decided to work with his father, as an engraver. He mastered skills surrounding this art, and also learned the English language during the time. His designs for the Obverse and Reverse were picked by the government, out of many designs submitted by professional engravers. He died in 1924, a few years after his initials were added onto the Obverse of the coin in 1918. It is a shame that he died so young, as he had a long career ahead of him and was the creator of our beloved Lincoln Cent.

The Design-

The Obverse: of the Lincoln Wheat Cent includes a bust of Abraham Lincoln, with the words "In God We Trust" placed directly over his head. On the Right side of the coin near four o' clock, is the date and mint mark (which can make the difference between 3 cents and 1,000 dollars). Placed at 9 o'clock on the left side of the coin, Liberty is included, a much needed word to symbolize America. In 1918, V.D.B was added on Lincoln's Left shoulder and is has stuck there until the modern day Lincoln penny. The VDB is shown on a 2013 S Penny/Cent below.



The Reverse- The Reverse of the Lincoln Wheat Cent includes two wheat ears that stretch from 2 o' clock to 5 o'clock on the right side of the coin, and 10 o'clock to 7 o' clock on the left side of the coin. The bottom of the ears start at 7 and 5 o' clock. At the top of the coin, the much needed words "E Pluribus Unum", meaning one from many, are placed between the end of each wheat ear. All of this outlines the coin, and left a blank canvas for words in the middle. In big letters, "One Cent" was highlighted, directly above the smaller letters "United States of America". In 1909, some coins from Philadelphia and San Francisco were minted with the initials of Victor David Brenner on the reverse. They were placed at 6 o'clock, nearly touching the rim of the coin. Below is a picture of a worn wheat cent. It does not include a VDB on the reverse, because it is from 1936.




Now, we will focus on the dates of the wheat penny. I have chosen to start with the Key Dates. For every coin, I will give the mintage, a background, and their approximate values at F-12 and MS-63. Also included will be pictures of the coin. Not all of these coins are mine, as I do not have any of the elusive key dates. I will only focus on common errors.

Key Dates (Fine-12=$70+)

1909-S VDB:
Mintage: 484,000
Background: the 1909-S VDB is an elusive key date in the Lincoln wheat series, and is and will continue to be prized by most collectors. However, don't think that buying one raw off of eBay is a good idea. This is possibly the most faked coin in US history, even so much that it has been faked 600,000+ times. That is more than the mintage of the legit coin! Counterfeit can be easy to detect by serious collectors, but every day newbies are buying this Counterfeited Key Date. For more info on the 1909-S VDB and it's fakes, look at the thread below, by BQCoins
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-1909-s-vdb.232533/
Values:
In F-12: $710-$775.
In MS-63: BN-$1750, RB-$1825, RD-$2300.

1909-S:
Mintage: 1,875,000
Background: In the early stages of 1909, people started to disagree with how big and prominent the initials of Victor David Brenner were on the Reverse of the Lincoln Cent. Hearing the dilemma and protest, the mint officials decided to create a new reverse, completely leaving the VDB off the coin. For the rest of the year, all coins in Philly and San Francisco were minted without the coin. The mintage of the 1909-S is significantly higher, because it was minted for the majority of 1909.
Values:
In F-12: $90-$120.
In MS-63: BN-$380, RB-$420, RD-$510.

1914-D:
Mintage: 1,193,000
Background: The 1914-D was minted a lot less than the 1909-S. Almost 700,000 coins less! Denver was the newest of the three mints to creating the wheat cent. While Philadelphia and San Francisco had been minting the wheat cent for five years already, Denver started in 1911. This lead to confusion and low mintages, which was really exemplified in 1914. The MS-63 values are all worth more than the MS-63 values of the 1909-S VDB, because less of the 1914-D were treasured and kept at such a high grade.
Values:
In F-12: $230-$250.
MS-63: BN-$3,750, RB-$4,000, RD-$4,500.

1922 No D (Error):
Mintage: ???
Background: The 1922 No D was minted at the Denver Mint in 1922. Usually, a coin that does not include a mint mark means that it was minted in Philadelphia. That was not the case with the 1922 No D. Weak and clogged dies in the Denver mint occasionally created a cent with a weak D, or one with absolutely no D. Look into this website for a lot more information.
http://www.lincolncentresource.com/1922Ddievarieties.html
Values: (with strong reverse)
In F-12: $650-$725.
In MS-63: BN-$20,000+, RB-$42,000+, RD-$47,000+.

1931-S:
Mintage: 866,000
Background: the 1931-S status as a key date is simply because of low mintage. It is one of the less costly key dates, despite being minted less than the 1914-D. The survival rate of the 1931-S is likely good, as it is one of the newer key dates and people were able to observe the values of low minted coins of the past such as the 1909-S VDB and the 1914-D. However, with the good comes the bad. This is also one of the most common counterfeited coins in US history.
Values:
In F-12: $90-$100.
In MS-63: BN-$195, RB-$205, RD-$220.

1943 Copper Cent (Error):
Mintage: <50
Background: If you find a cent that you believe to be a 1943 copper cent, don't get too excited. I guarantee that 99.9% of all of these existing coins are counterfeit. There are many ways that one may counterfeit a 1943 copper cent. They can start from scratch and make a mold for a fake penny. They can try and change and 1948 or a 1945 into a 1943. Experts can easily detect this and the molded penny. On a real 1943, the 3 hangs well below the bottom of the 4. On a 1945 or 1948 fake, it will not so this. Lastly, a '43 steel cent can be plated in copper to fake out buyers. This can easily be found out with a magnet or the naked eye. Also, steel cents weight 2.7 grams, unlike copper cents which weigh 3.11 grams. Please be careful with what you buy, as a real one of these will not be selling for $400 dollars on eBay. The thread below may give you more info. It is from a while ago.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/is-my-1943-copper-cent-real.1484/
Value: Priceless. But really, well over $500,000.

1944 Steel Cent (Error)
Mintage: <100
Background: With the 1944 steel cent, the same rules apply as with the 1943 copper cent. Tiny mintage, Giant population of counterfeits. Only two ways can be used, however, to fake the 1944 steel cent. You cannot change the 1943 steel cent to a 1944, because the numbers are so different. Remember, a steel cent weighs 2.7 grams and sticks to a magnet. You will be able to tell a steel coated copper cent from a real steel cent due to weight and the force of attraction between the coin and the magnet. Period.
Value: Over 250,000 in any condition.

1955 Doubled Die Obverse (Error)
Mintage: <50,000
Background: Though 50,000 1955 DDO's were minted, many of the coins were destroyed by the mint after the problem was realized. However, lots of them were already mixed in with the non-error '55 cents. The mint decided that they should release them, and the 1955 DDO pennies were born into circulation. A doubled die obverse is created when the second strike from the working hub is misaligned with the first strike. This occurred for a number of pennies in the Philly mint in 1955, resulting in the error we know and love.


More to come!!!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Your post rocks!

Here's some Abe trivia:

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/sites/longnine.htm

 

@longnine009 Thanks for sharing! Very nice info. I plan to post the semi-keys tomorrow.

 

I forgot about this thread for a long while, and hope to find time to post semi-keys soon. So sorry for the long, month and a few days delay.

 

What you did here is quite simply super dooper cointastic in every way,I am new to collecting and posts like this is just so helpful.Thankyou.

 

@Peter T Davis is this not Feature worthy?

 

Are you sure that is his LEFT shoulder?

 

Thank you for noting this. It is his right shoulder. Now that I think about the way Lincoln is facing.

 

Apologies if I am wrong but isnt the design in reverse when designed then is the opposite when stamped.?.not sure.

 

That is kind of what I was thinking too.

 

When the design is engraved it would look like lincoln is facing to the left showing his left shoulder,when stamped it would look the opposite way.
So your both right really.

 

Kind of hard to visualize, but the short answer is yes, for all coins.

Here is an example I found on coinnews.com of some modern coin dies. Look specifically at the state quarter dies, because they are straight.



An interesting way to think about it though...

 

Good writeup, I'd just mention that I believe any photos not explicitly taken by you should probably be cited.

 

All but one are PCGS pictures:

PCGS.com

 

Thank you for the information. Girldly

 

Semi-Key Dates! Value in F-12 ($7.99-$69.99)

Some of these Semi-Key Date coins can certainly be found in rolls or bags. They may be hidden a wheat cent hoard or even some pennies from the bank!

1909 VDB:
Mintage: 27,995,000
Background: This coin follows the same story as the 1909 S VDB, people disagreed with the VDB initials on the reverse of the penny, and they were removed early in the year. However, the Philedelphia mint had and will continue to have a higher production rate than the mint in San Francisco. Therefore, a lot more 1909 P VDB's were minted than 1909 S VDB's causing the value of the P VDB to be much less than the Prominent S mint coin. It is still a semi-key, though. I have over 10 of these, but I wanted to show one graded ms-67 by PCGS in the picture.
Values:
In F-12: Around $8
In MS-63: BN and RB: $35-40, RD: $40-45


There is also a noticeable DDO for the 1909-VDB. Be careful to check for this, as it can be worth up to 3x the value of the non-error cent.

Early S mints (I felt that I could clump these together due to similarities.)
Mintages:
1910-S: 6,045,000
1911-S: 4,026,000
1912-S: 4,431,000
1913-S: 6,101,000
1914-S: 4,137,000
1915-S: 4,833,000
Description: These are nice coins to have. Despite the low mintages, they lack popularity compared to more famous coins such the 1909-VDB. As you know, the San Francisco mint had a significantly lower mintage rate than the Philadelphia mint, and will continue to. I find that the values of these coins are low, relative to their rarity.
Values:
1910 S-
In F-12: $15
In MS-63: BN- $110, RB- $130, RD- $155


1911 S-
In F-12: $30
In MS-63: BN- $250, RB- $325, RD- $400

1912 S-
In F-12: $17
In MS-63: BN- $250, RB- $325, RD- $375

1913 S-
In F-12: $17
In MS-63: BN- $250, RB- $400, RD- $425

1914 S-
In F-12: $24
In MS-63: BN: $450, RB- $700, RD- $900

1915 S-
In F-12: $20
MS-63: BN: $350, RB- $550, RD- $800

(Note: I would consider all of the early D mints, except 1914-D, better dates).

1922 D:
Mintage: 7,160,000
Background: The only pennies/cents minted in 1922 were minted in Denver, and Denver also had its hands full minting the brand new Peace dollar. Also, Denver was busy minting the other denominations. All of the busy work led to a low-penny mintage for the 1922-D. If you happen to find a 1922 penny with no D, then you may have hit the jackpot. Look up to the key date section for more info.
Value:
In F-12: $15
In MS-63: BN: $130, RB: $160, RD: $200


1924-D:
Mintage: 2,250,000
Background: This is another low mintage Denver coin. If have found a few of these in wheat cent bags, so keep an eye out for this one as it is a hole-filler and can be worth up to $40 in decent condition. However, the prices become very steep with uncirculated 1924 D's.
Value:
In F-12: $25
In Ms-63: BN- $475, RB- $650, RD- $800


1926-S:
Mintage: 4,550,000
Background: Not much to say about this one. Simply a lower mintage coin that can make a good pull from a wheat cent bag or bank box. I've found a few, so you can too!
Value:
In F-12: $10
In MS-63: BN- Around $400, RB- $700, RD- $950



For those of you wondering:

The coin pictures I have used are from:

PCGS.com
NGC.com
usacoinbook.com

(I used these pictures as I do want to spend countless hours photographing and photoshopping coins to look as good as these ones do)

 

Thanks again for the information and for sharing ,much appreciated.[emoji106]

 

You might want to include the 1923-S and 1924-S in your list. Although fairly common in circulated condition, both are rare in uncirculated and even rarer when well struck. And they are just about unheard of in red. The 1924-S is actually rarer than the 1926-S in red plus RB (NGC plus PCGS totals). Pricing is my averaging from Heritage;

1923-S
In F-12: $3
In MS-63: BN: $250, RB: $450, RD: $700 - $1100

1924-S
In F-12: $7
In MS-63: BN: $230, RB: $400, RD: $700 - $2200

 

I agree, there are some coins that are less valuable in F-12, that really accelerate in value while reaching high grades. However, I would call both of those coins better dates rather than semi-keys. My rough definition was $7.99-$69.99 value for semi-keys in F-12.