TheWheatPenny.com

10 Things You Don’t Know About United States Pennies

There is probably one in your pocket right now and it has had a long and complicated history before coming into your possession. No, it’s not pocket lint. It is, of course, the penny. Here are 10 obscure facts that you may not know about this unassuming coin. This information probably won’t make you the life of the party, but it will give you credence among the coin collecting crowd.

1.Did you know that the current U.S. Penny contains less than 5 percent copper, despite its bronze appearance? The inner core is made of zinc, and was introduced in 1982 to reduce the manufacturing costs of the Lincoln Cent.

2. Additionally, the Lincoln Cent has had its composition changed a total of five times from its introduction in 1909. The original issue was a coin of 95% copper and the remainder equal parts tin and zinc. The first change was to the wartime steel version, comprised of steel coated zinc in 1943. Next was the change to permit the use of recycled shell casings from WWII in 1944, and that changed again back to the prewar composition in 1947. Finally, original composition was usurped again with the copper coated zinc coin, introduced in 1982.

3. The design of the front the Lincoln Cent, called the obverse, has changed only once during its now 103 year run. That change was to incorporate the initials of the designer V.D.B. on the shoulder of Lincoln.

4.The design on the reverse of the Lincoln Cent has changed a total of four times. The original design incorporated the initials of the designer, V.D.B., although this was removed within one year, creating the second reverse without the initials present. The third change was to honor Lincoln’s 150 anniversary of his birth, and placed the Lincoln Memorial in place of the Wheat Ear design. Lastly, a new reverse, depicting a motto and shield, was introduced in 2010.

5.The average penny lasts 25 years.

6. In March of 1973, the penny was the first coin made and distributed by the U.S. Mint. They distributed 11,178 of the copper cents.

7.The Lincoln memorial penny is the only coin depicting the same person’s likeness on both sides. There is the bust of Lincoln on the obverse side, but he is also on the reverse, as the statue, in between two of the columns in the Memorial building.

8.The penny was the first coin to feature a historical figure when Abraham Lincoln was placed prominently on Victor David Brenner’s design of the Lincoln Cent in 1909.

9. In the early days of the U.S. Mint, copper was in short supply to make the penny. So the American citizens at the time contributed their copper belongings, such as copper pots, to the Mint in order to be used for scrap.

10.The first penny was almost as big as a modern day half dollar. It was first struck in 1793. The penny remained at that size, although many people found it troublesome to use because of its size, until 50 years later.

Grading Lincoln Wheat Cents

Pennies have been the perfect starter coin for beginning numismatists for many reasons.  The low denomination, coupled with the high mintages for almost all years, and a continuous minting since 1909, makes the starting and completing a collection attainable for all but select key dates.  So it is no surprise that penny collections range in quality from disfigured to pristine, and it is the job of the collector to sort them all out, from best to worst.  To do just that, follow this guide to grading Lincoln Cents.

In order from best to worst (Wheat Ear reverse)

MS-70, Perfect Uncirculated.  This coin has no wear, no marring scratches or bag marks or blemishes.  A gem of a coin, well struck and in fine detail.

MS-65, Choice Uncirculated.  Almost perfect, but with traces of fingerprinting, or tiny bag marks.  No wear at all, and must still contain full mint luster, all blemishes must be slight.

MS-60, Uncirculated. This coin’s rating is based solely on the absence of wear and obvious marring.  The coin may contain numerous bag marks, blemishing, uneven toning, or loss of luster.

AU-50, About Uncirculated.  This coin is almost uncirculated, except for slight traces of abrasion on highest points of the jaw, cheek, and wheat stalks.  Three quarters of mint luster should be present.

EF-40, Extremely Fine.  Wear now showing markedly on the cheek, jaw, and the hair above the ear.  Each stalk on reverse is clearly defined high points on the stalks are worn.

VF-30, Choice Very Fine.  Noticeably flat spots on the cheek and jaw, ear and bow tie, hair worn but details still present.  On reverse, lines of stalk tips are worn but defined.

VF-20, Very Fine.  Almost all details remain in hair, flat spots present around cheek and jaw.  Lines on reverse are still visible and clear, but worn

F-12, Fine.  At least some detain is still present in the hair, cheek and jaw are smooth.  On reverse, wheat stalk lines show separation, but no detail.

VG-8, Very Good.  Outline of hair present, but most details are missing, The legend and date are weak but clear.  Some detail and lines appear in wheat stalks on reverse.

G-4, Good.  Nearly  all detail gone, mostly outlines.  Wheat ears are worn flat but visible, with at least some kernels visible.

AG-3, About Good.  Outline of hair present, all details missing.  Date and legend are worn but readable.  Parts of motto merge with wreath on reverse.

The biggest misconception about grading coins lies in the thought that higher graded coins are “prettier” coins, and that correspondingly, a higher ranked coin will always have more “eye appeal” than a lower graded coin.  This is simply not true.  The fact is that the distinction between uncirculated and circulated coins, the first major separation between coins, takes into account only the condition of the wear of the coin.  Wear is defined by the parts of the design that were removed by abrasion. Grade coins based on the highest grade in which it has all detail specified by the grade.

The brilliance, tone, and scratch marks on the coin are important, but only to sort uncirculated coins from other circulated ones.  Coin grading is subjective to this distinction as well. For example, an uncirculated coin may be labeled as any number between 60-70, as the coins involved are of an already uniform standard enough to permit fine differences in grading between 61 and 62 etc.  Circulated coins however, are expected to be only labeled as declinations of 3, 4, 8, 12, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55.  Also, it is not necessary to add a “+” or “-” to any coins, the grade should speak for itself.  Grade your coins consistently and accurately, and when the time comes to sell the collection, your notes will give you invaluable insight into what your coins are actually worth.

The Designer of the Wheat Penny: Victor David Brenner

Victor David Brenner was a medalist, sculptor, and engraver who is well known as the designer of the United States Lincoln Cent. He was born as Viktoras Barnauskas in June 12, 1871 in Lithuania to Jewish parents. In 1890 he emigrated to the United States and changed his name to Victor David Brenner to ease the process of obtaining American citizenship. When he arrived in America, he worked the gem and seal engraving and sculpting trade that his father taught him and took night classes to master English.  Before his career really took off, he also studied in Paris with the noted French medalist, Oscar Roty, where he showed his work and received awards at the Paris Exposition of 1900.

Back in America, Brenner’s career reached its peak with his Lincoln coin design which was chosen by the 26^th President, Theodore Roosevelt. In 1908 Roosevelt had posed for a Panama Canal service medal to be created by Brenner. While Roosevelt posed, Brenner suggested the idea of honoring Abraham Lincoln with a coin. Roosevelt had already been impressed by a centennial plaque depicting Lincoln that Brenner was working on, so the president gave his approval for the designing of the Lincoln coin.

The new coin was commissioned by the United States Mint. It was the new copper Lincoln one cent coin, commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the birth of the 16^th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s profile was on the front and the border of circular wheat stalks was on the back. It is now known as the “wheat penny”.

The design of the Lincoln cent, when Brenner forwarded it to the Mint Director, initially bore his whole name. It was inspired by the signatures on the coins of other countries, such as the gold coins which Brenner’s mentor, Oscar Roty, designed for France. However, the Director substituted the initials, VDB, for the name.

The initials didn’t last long either, though. After production began, controversy surrounded the initials’ prominent placement on the reverse bottom between the wheat stalks. Some thought that the initials were too prominent, others were confused about the meaning behind the letters. In response to the criticism, the U.S. Secretary of Treasury at the time, Franklin MacVeagh stopped production on the Lincoln coins with initials and ordered new Lincoln cents without the initials. In 1918, the initials were returned, but this time they were smaller and located on the obverse side of the coin, next to Lincoln’s shoulder.

Approximately 28 million wheat pennies with the first set of initials were made by the Philadelphia Mint in 1909, but only 484,000 were made by the San Fransisco Mint. Those are known as 1909-S VDB wheat pennies, denoting the small “s” mark in pennies for San Fransisco minted coins. Because these pennies were so rare, they are one of the most popular for collectors. The production on wheat pennies ended in 1959, after a 50 year run. The wheat design was replaced with the Lincoln Memorial, which was chosen as a tribute to the 150^th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.

The Wheat Penny Errors: 1959 “D” Wheat Penny

This is the Lincoln Wheat Cent that was not meant to be. In 1959 the United States Mint decided to forgo the iconic ‘ears of wheat’ on the reverse side of the Lincoln cent with the image of the Lincoln Memorial.  This was done in homage to Abraham Lincoln’s 150^th year anniversary of his birth, so Congress used Frank Gasparro to design how the coin was to be changed.  There is some question however, as to whether or not this change went off without a hitch.  While looking through loose change it might be worthwhile to take another look at those coins from 1959, the reward might be a history maker.

In 1986 the numismatic community was shocked to learn that twenty seven years after the first production of Lincoln Memorial Cents, the U.S. Mint produced a unique and obvious error.  The new error penny, with the standard obverse of Lincoln’s bust, was minted on the reverse with the old “Wheat Penny” style.  Only one example was brought forward causing suspicion to be cast on the only sample to be found in over a quarter of a century, although tests conducted by the U.S. Secret Service cannot disprove its legitimacy.

How does a collector value such a rare and unique piece?  The auction world certainly has had its share of problems, as the one example has been pulled from the action block twice, from two different action houses, before actually being sold for slightly over $31,000 in 2010.  And the U.S. Secret Service has studied the coin twice, returning the specimen both times without issuing certification of its credibility.  The problem lies with the lack of accreditation given to the coin.  Without a reputable, nationally recognized grading as genuine, any strong suggestion to its lack of legitimacy becomes a major obstacle to sale.  Even the price when it did sell was hampered by this, as evidenced by the fact that no legitimate issue, with only one or two specimens known in existence like this piece have prices this low. The investment paid into this coin represents not only the value of rare coins and pieces of history, but that the coin remains seen as a genuine article, not counterfeit.

The finding of another specimen would be a wind fall find for a change hunter, and a simple sweep of hoarded wheat pennies may reveal collaborating evidence of this mysterious error coin.  If any additional coins are found, the credibility of each could be tested more exhaustively, perhaps resulting in firm verification of this coin from the U.S. Secret Service, or national grading firms.  Although the possibility of counterfeit coins cannot be discounted, so always avoid the quick sale of un-appraised coins.   Reputable sellers will most always submit to professional assessment, and some collectors feel comfortable buying only  those coins rated by national grading companies like PCGS, ANACS or NCG.

The Wheat Penny Errors: 1955 Double Die

The 1955 Double Die Cent is the most well known and popular of the Lincoln Wheat penny error coins.  The 1955 error coin was released in numbers well above most other error coins.  The estimated total of coins that slipped past U.S. Mint is around 24,000.  The misalignment of a coin press created a doubled image, an effect easily seen with the naked eye or a magnifying glass.  The 1955 Double Die Cent is one of the most worthwhile error coins to search for, because it is the statistically most likely error coin to find in lose change.  Its a matter of odds, and the sheer number of coins yet to be found means that if you only look for one coin amongst the riffraff of your pocket, look for this one.

The double, or ghost, image is made during the striking of the coin.  In a normal strike the first blow to the blank shapes the features of the surface of the coin.  On the second blow the detail made clearer and more consistent.  This process requires that no movement occur in relation between coin and striking element.  When the double die coins were produced, the second blow was shifted slightly off-center, resulting in a clear second image.  There is a similar effect created by the deterioration of the master die which is not nearly as prized or valuable, but also more common. The double die version can easily be  identified, however, by its image duplication being heaviest along the outside details of the coin, around the lettering and date, but little around the bust or figure of Lincoln.  The detail surface should be clearly doubled, or use a magnifying glass to make sure.

Coins like this survive in circulation because the difference between the valuable error coin and the regular mint issue is slight when most people just use pennies to count out change.  There are some tips to improve your odds of finding error coins though, and the 1955 Double Die Cent is no exception.   If you take care not to damage the coins, a gentle bath in warm water can loosen dirt and foreign matter obscuring old coin dates and mint marks.  As all the 1955 error coins were released into circulation, and it is very unlikely that a ‘Mint State’ penny will be found in loose change.  Don’t worry, even in rough condition, as long as the date and mint mark is legible, the coin will be worth a premium for collectors.

Collecting coins can be an rewarding venture, and also an investment for the future.  Remember to store coins safely, and only handle the coins you mean to spend.  Get coins graded for a small fee, and the resale increases greatly.  An un-circulated, graded, 1955 Double Die Cent may be worth over $25,000.  Even a heavily worn example would be a nice find, at around 300 dollars a pop!