You’ve probably seen one. Maybe it was buried under a pile of lint in your couch or sitting lonely in a gas station coin tray. The Lincoln Wheat Cent—minted between 1909 and 1958—is arguably the most iconic piece of pocket change in American history. But if you’re looking at a picture of a wheat penny online trying to figure out if yours is worth a fortune, you're going to realize quickly that it's a bit of a minefield out there. Most are worth three cents. Some are worth $30,000. Knowing the difference usually comes down to a tiny, microscopic mark that most people miss without a magnifying glass.
Honestly, it’s about the "ears." On the reverse side of these coins, you’ll see two stalks of durum wheat framing the words "One Cent." That’s where the name comes from. Before 1909, we had the Indian Head penny, but for Lincoln’s 100th birthday, the Mint decided to put a real person on a coin for the first time in U.S. history. Victor David Brenner was the artist behind it. He did a decent job. But he also caused a massive scandal right out of the gate by putting his initials, V.D.B., in big letters on the bottom of the reverse side. People lost their minds. They thought it was "illegal advertising." The Mint panicked and scrubbed the initials off within weeks.
The 1909-S V.D.B. Mystery
If you see a picture of a wheat penny from 1909 with those three letters at the bottom and a little "S" under the date on the front, you’ve hit the jackpot. That "S" stands for San Francisco. Only 484,000 were made before the redesign happened. In the world of coin collecting (numismatics, if you want to be fancy), that is a tiny number.
A 1909-S V.D.B. in "circulated" condition—meaning it looks like it’s been through a few wars and sat in a jar for fifty years—can still pull $1,000 easily. If it’s "uncirculated" and still has that original mint red glow? We’re talking five figures. But be careful. Scammers love to glue a tiny "S" onto a regular 1909 V.D.B. penny. Professional graders like PCGS or NGC spend half their lives looking at these under microscopes to spot the fake glue lines.
Copper vs. Steel: The 1943 Error
World War II changed everything, even pennies. Copper was needed for shell casings and communications wire. So, in 1943, the U.S. Mint made pennies out of zinc-coated steel. They look like dimes that got fat. They’re silver-colored, magnetic, and generally worth about 10 to 25 cents today. They’re cool, but they aren't going to pay for your retirement.
However.
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A few copper blanks were left in the hopper at the end of 1942. When the presses started running the 1943 batch, those copper blanks got struck with the 1943 date. There are only about 20 known to exist. If you find a picture of a wheat penny that looks like copper but is dated 1943, don't get excited yet. Grab a magnet. If it sticks, it’s a fake. If it doesn't stick, you might be holding a coin worth $200,000.
I remember reading about a teenager named Don Lutes Jr. who found one in his school lunch change in 1947. He kept it for decades. When it finally went to auction after he passed away, it sold for over $300,000. That is a lot of tater tots.
Why Condition Is Everything
Look at any high-resolution picture of a wheat penny on a site like Heritage Auctions. You’ll notice the color isn't just "brown." Collectors grade them by color: Red (R), Red-Brown (RB), and Brown (B).
- Red: This is the holy grail. It means the coin still looks like it just popped out of the machine yesterday. Copper reacts with oxygen fast. Keeping a coin "Red" for 100 years is almost impossible unless it was stored in an airtight vault.
- Red-Brown: It's starting to turn. You’ll see some chocolatey tones creeping in.
- Brown: Most of what you find in the wild. It’s been touched, dropped, and weathered.
Beyond color, you have the "Strike." Is Lincoln’s beard sharp? Can you see the individual lines in the wheat stalks? If the details are mushy, the value drops. A 1955 penny with a "Double Die" error (where the date looks like it’s vibrating because it was stamped twice) is worth thousands in Red condition. In Brown condition? Maybe $800. Still great, but the gap is huge.
The 1955 Double Die King
Speaking of 1955, that’s the year that turned "coin hunting" into a national pastime. A machine at the Philadelphia Mint got misaligned. It pumped out about 20,000 to 24,000 pennies where the date and the lettering are clearly doubled. You don't even need a magnifying glass for this one. You can see it from across the room.
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It looks like a printing error on a newspaper. Because it’s so obvious, it became the "poster child" for error coins. If you ever see a picture of a wheat penny where the "1955" looks like it's ghosting, check the back. If the back isn't doubled, it's the real deal. Most fakes double both sides because the counterfeiters get greedy.
Grading Your Own Stash
So you found a jar. You’ve got 500 wheat pennies. What now?
First, sort by date. Anything before 1940 is generally worth more than the stuff from the 40s and 50s. Look for the mint marks under the date. "S" is San Francisco, "D" is Denver, and no mark means Philadelphia. San Francisco usually had the lowest production numbers, making those coins "key dates" or "semi-key dates."
Don't clean them. Please.
I can't stress this enough. If you take a dirty 1909 penny and scrub it with baking soda or vinegar to make it "shiny," you just destroyed 90% of its value. Collectors hate cleaned coins. They want the "patina." They want the history. A dirty, authentic coin is always worth more than a shiny, scratched-up one.
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The Rarest of the Rare
Let’s talk about the 1914-D. While the 1909-S V.D.B. gets all the headlines, the 1914-D is the silent killer of bank accounts. Only 1,193,000 were made. That sounds like a lot, but most of those were used until they were smooth. Finding one in high grade is incredibly difficult.
If you see a picture of a wheat penny from 1914 with a 'D', look closely at the spacing. On genuine coins, there’s a specific gap between the 1 and the 4. Counterfeiters often take a 1944-D and shave off part of the first '4' to make it look like a '1'. It’s a common trick. If the "1" looks a little too thick or the spacing feels "off," it's probably a basement job.
What to Do Next
If you think you've found something special after looking at a picture of a wheat penny online and comparing it to your own, your first stop shouldn't be eBay. eBay is full of "unsearched" rolls that have definitely been searched.
Instead, go to a local coin shop. Most dealers are happy to look at a few coins for free. They'll tell you if you have a common 1958-D (worth 2 cents) or a 1922 "No D" (worth $500+). If they get excited and start reaching for a magnifying glass, you're on the right track.
For high-value items, you'll eventually need to send it to a grading service. It costs about $30 to $50 per coin, plus shipping and insurance. It's only worth it if the coin is valued at $150 or more. They will slab it in a hard plastic case with a certified grade. That slab is your "liquidity." It makes the coin much easier to sell because the buyer knows exactly what they are getting.
Actionable Steps for Your Collection:
- Buy a 10x Jewelers Loupe: You can’t see "re-punched mint marks" or "doubled dies" with the naked eye. A $10 loupe is the best investment you'll make.
- Check the 1943 with a Magnet: It's the fastest way to weed out the 99.9% of fakes.
- Get a Red Book: "A Guide Book of United States Coins" (The Red Book) is updated every year. It gives you the mintage numbers for every single wheat penny ever made.
- Look for "Woodies": Some early wheat pennies have a "woody" appearance because the metal wasn't mixed perfectly. They look like they have a wood grain. Collectors pay a premium for these "improperly annealed" planchets.
- Organize by Decade: It makes spotting the rare early dates much easier than digging through a chaotic bucket.
Wheat pennies are a gateway drug into history. Every time you hold one, you're holding something that survived the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the rise of the digital age. Even if yours isn't worth a million dollars, it's still a piece of copper-clad art that isn't being made anymore. Hang onto them. They aren't making any more 1909s.