The U.S. Lincoln Memorial Cent has been issued since 1959, when it replaced the Wheat Penny. (See another page for Wheat Penny key dates or Wheat Penny Values.) There are no rare dates in the regular series of Lincoln Memorial pennies, as most dates had mintages in the billions of coins, and an entire collection of Memorial cents can still be formed from circulation.
Although there are no real keys in the regular series, a few dates are noteworthy for being slightly scarcer. These include the 1960-D Small Date and the 1982 (plain, minted at Philadelphia) zinc cents. Any 1982 and earlier copper Lincoln Memorial pennies are worth setting aside, as the value of the copper bullion in the cents is around 3 times face value now. Learn how to tell copper and zinc pennies apart.
There are also a number of popular Lincoln Memorial Penny variety types, most of which are listed in the "Red Book" now.
Lincoln Memorial Penny values for the regular series can be found in the Lincoln Memorial Penny Value Guide.
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Although there are no real keys in the regular series, a few dates are noteworthy for being slightly scarcer. These include the 1960-D Small Date and the 1982 (plain, minted at Philadelphia) zinc cents. Any 1982 and earlier copper Lincoln Memorial pennies are worth setting aside, as the value of the copper bullion in the cents is around 3 times face value now. Learn how to tell copper and zinc pennies apart.
There are also a number of popular Lincoln Memorial Penny variety types, most of which are listed in the "Red Book" now.
Lincoln Memorial Penny values for the regular series can be found in the Lincoln Memorial Penny Value Guide.
