50 Valuable Wheat Pennies Worth Money

Wheat pennies were produced from 1909 to 1958 and feature a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the obverse and two ears of wheat on the reverse. Most wheat pennies are worth only a few cents, but there are rare wheat pennies that can fetch thousands—or even millions—at auction.

What pennies are rare and worth money? Today, we will explore 50 rare wheat pennies to look for, help you identify the coins, and understand what cents are worth the most. 

Why Some Wheat Pennies Are Valuable

Not every Wheat penny is expensive. High prices usually come from rarity, major mint error or variety, high grade, original surfaces, and strong copper color. 

Color matters a lot for Lincoln cents. PCGS uses RD, RB, and BN designations, and full Red coins often sell for much more than Brown or Red-Brown examples in the same grade. PCGS also notes that the 1926-S is one of the toughest business-strike Wheat cents in full Red.

The most valuable rare wheat pennies worth money usually fall into three groups: rare off-metal errors, such as the 1943 bronze and 1944 steel cents; famous doubled dies, such as 1955 and 1958; key dates in exceptional Mint State Red condition, such as 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, and 1926-S. 

Also read: 1999 penny value.

“The United States Mint only releases a certain amount of pennies annually. If the mintage is lower in a particular year, this will only help increase the value.”
— Dawn Allcot, Finance writer
Yahoo! Finance

10 Most Valuable Wheat Pennies

The biggest rare Lincoln wheat penny value does not come from ordinary circulated coins but from rarities, famous mint errors, and top-grade Red examples. 

Wheat Penny Errors That Increase Value

The cents that bring the strongest premiums usually have real mint-made errors or recognized die varieties, not small defects. PCGS distinguishes an error that is usually a one-off production mistake, such as a wrong-planchet or mis-struck coin, and a variety that comes from a die difference that repeats on multiple coins.

Off-Metal Errors

The classic examples are the 1943 bronze cents struck during the steel-cent year and the 1944 steel cents struck after the Mint returned to copper alloy. These are major rarities, and the PCGS wheat penny error list records six-figure auction results for them.

Major Doubled Dies

The best-known example in the error coins chart rare pennies worth money is the 1955 Doubled Die Obverse, which is popular because the doubling is strong and easy to see. The 1958 Doubled Die Obverse is even rarer, and PCGS reports a $336,000 auction record for one certified piece.

Key Die Varieties

Some pieces are collected like errors because the premium is so strong. The 1922 No D cent is the best example. PCGS notes that authentication is important, because only certain diagnostics identify the valuable variety. The 1909-S/S Horizontal S is another recognized Wheat cent variety with collector demand.

Other Error Coin Rare Lincoln Wheat Penny

Collectors also pay for coins struck on clipped planchets, for struck-through pieces, and for real lamination errors. These usually do not match the value of the famous bronze, steel, or doubled-die cents, but strong and obvious examples can still be worth something.

List of 50 Valuable Wheat Pennies

The rare pennies worth money list uses PCGS auction records for the Lincoln Cent (Wheat Reverse) (1909–1958) category.

True mint error coin Lincoln wheat penny issues in the table are the off-metal coins:

• 1943 Bronze Cent

• 1943-D Bronze Cent

• 1943-S Bronze Cent

• 1944 Steel Cent

• 1944-S Steel Cent

Those are genuine mint errors because they were struck on the wrong planchet for the year. PCGS distinguishes mint errors from rare Lincoln wheat pennies varieties this way: errors happen during production, while varieties come from differences in the dies used to strike multiple coins.

Related article: 1964 Pennies Worth Money.

Rare Wheat Pennies Still Found in Circulation

Wheat pennies were struck from 1909 to 1958, and the U.S. Mint confirms that the wheat-reverse design was used through 1958. PCGS also notes that Wheat cents can still turn up in circulation or in old jars of saved change, even though they are much less common now than later Lincoln cents.

How rare are wheat pennies now? In real-world searching, most Wheat cents found today are common dates from the 1940s and 1950s. The coins worth watching for are the better dates and major varieties: 1909-S VDB, 1909-S, 1914-D, 1922 No D, 1931-S, 1917 Doubled Die Obverse, and 1955 Doubled Die Obverse. 

How to Identify Rare Wheat Pennies

Rare Lincoln wheat penny variants must show two wheat ears on the back, and the date will fall between 1909 and 1958. Then check the area below the date on the obverse for a mint mark. A D means Denver, an S means San Francisco, and no mint mark usually means Philadelphia. That step matters because coins like the 1909-S, 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, and 1931-S are much better than their common Philadelphia counterparts.

On the 1909-S VDB, the VDB initials appear on the reverse at the bottom. On the 1922 No D, the missing mint mark is important because PCGS describes it as the only circulation-strike Lincoln cent in the series that lacks its intended mint mark. On the 1955 Doubled Die Obverse, the doubling is obvious on the date, LIBERTY, and IN GOD WE TRUST. On the 1917 Doubled Die Obverse, the doubling shows at the date and motto. A loupe helps find rare US pennies worth money, but the best method is still date, mint mark, and visible diagnostics in that order.

Checklist

• Check the reverse first: wheat ears = 1909 to 1958.

• Read the date and mint mark carefully: many valuable Wheat cents are rare because of the mint.

• Look for major varieties, not minor marks: 1922 No D, 1917 DDO, 1955 DDO.

• Do not rely on color alone: date, mint mark, diagnostics matter first, and comparing it with a wheat chart rare pennies worth money matter. 

• Use Coin ID Scanner: take a photo of your coin and upload it to the app for identification and assessment. 

FAQ

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