One of the most common questions in coin collecting is, what are the top 10 most valuable wheat pennies? Many people have unique treasures and don’t even know it.
Antiques handed down from relatives. Paintings hanging on the walls. A stack of old books in the basement.
The most valuable wheat pennies have traveled great distances before finally being discovered.
Some of the most incredible collectible items and rare coins sit undetected for decades as their owners don’t consider them to have much value.
An undiscovered valuable penny could be hiding even among the loose change in your desk drawer, uncirculated for years.
It might pay off to familiarize yourself with the most valuable wheat pennies. The facts are that many people have yet to learn an old penny could have much value.
If you find a wheat penny lying around, look closer. You could have a coin worth thousands of dollars right under your nose.
Production of the Wheat Penny
The wheat penny was minted at the Philadelphia Mint and San Francisco Mint from 1909 to 1956. At this time, the coin was mostly made from copper, with steel pennies minted only during World War II.
Coins minted at the Philadelphia Mint were not marked in any way. The San Francisco mint facility coins were marked with an “S.”
Nearly 28 million wheat cents were struck in Philadelphia, making them fairly common. However, a version of the coin minted with Victor David Brenner’s initials, the 1909-S VDB, is extremely rare.
Only about a half-million coins were produced with these markings showing the designer’s initials. In 1911, the Denver Mint began production of the wheat penny with a “D” mintmark.
Lincoln Wheat Cent Design
The design of the Lincoln Cent came from Victor David Brenner, who emigrated to New York City from Lithuania.
He arrived in New York City with very little except skill in gem and seal engraving, a trade his father had taught him.
Brenner proposed a design for a coin that would later be known as the Lincoln coin or Lincoln cent. It featured Abraham Lincoln on one side and two wheat stalks on the reverse side.
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt chose Brenner’s design and ordered it to begin production in 1909 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln.
Brenner worked with the Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, Charles E. Barber, to finalize the design. Barber modified Brenner’s design slightly, for example, adding the words “In God We Trust” over the top of Lincoln’s head.
Barber believed there was too much open space above Lincoln and insisted on improving the coin’s appearance.
In addition to the printed words on the front, the coin’s reverse featured the United States motto, “E Pluribus Unum,” meaning “out of many, one.”
By 1917, circulation was still low for the wheat penny, and the older Indian head pennies were still in the majority.
The coin designed by Victor D. Brenner turned out to be the longest-running design in United States Mint history.
Many historians also believe the Brenner designed wheat penny to be the most reproduced piece of art in world history.
Lincoln wheat penny values are also a huge topic of conversation for coin collectors. From online forums to major coin shows, everyone wants to know the value of their newly discovered wheat penny worth money.
