1909-S Lincoln Wheat Cent
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,825,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,825,000
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
- Weight
- 3.11 g
- Diameter
- 19.05 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1909-S Lincoln Wheat Cent worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1909-S Lincoln Wheat Cent rare?
- Somewhat. 1,825,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent?
- On the obverse, directly below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1909 are scarcer?
- The 1909-S VDB at 484,000. So the 1909-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1909-S Lincoln Wheat Cent coins were made?
- 1,825,000.
What to check on your 1909-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1909-S VDB (484,000 made).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof (1,194 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the parallel lines in the wheat stalks, Lincoln's cheek and jaw, plus the hair above the ear. Uncirculated cents are also graded by color (RD, RB, BN) and full red coins are worth multiples of brown ones.
The story of the 1909-S
1909 was the first year of the Lincoln Wheat Cent. San Francisco struck 1,825,000 of them. The next year it made 6 million (1910-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1909 alone came to 73 million, roughly 40 for every 1909-S. If you're checking a pile of 1909 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1924-D (2,520,000) and the 1914-D (1,193,000).
Only the 1909-S VDB and the 1931-S have a lower mintage among San Francisco's 44 Lincoln Wheat Cents. Among the 1900s issues, only the 1909-S VDB had a smaller run.
It also marks a change of metal: 1909 is the first year of the Lincoln Wheat Cent in 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze), which lasted until 1958.
VDB, new branch mints and wartime demand (1909 to 1917)
Victor David Brenner's Lincoln cent was released on August 2, 1909, the centennial year of Lincoln's birth. Within days the Mint removed his initials, VDB, from the reverse after complaints that they were too prominent. San Francisco struck only 484,000 cents with the initials, creating the 1909-S VDB, the most famous key in the series. The 1909-S without initials is also scarce at 1.8 million.
Denver began striking cents in 1911. The 1914-D, with 1.2 million made, is another key and is often counterfeited by altering the date or adding a mint mark. Matte proofs were made from 1909 to 1916. Demand rose sharply with World War I. Output in 1917 passed 196 million in Philadelphia, a year that also includes a doubled die obverse. Survivors from this era are usually brown and worn, with full red coins scarce for the branch mints.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1909
The Lincoln cent replaced the Indian Head cent to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Designer Victor David Brenner's initials V.D.B. on the reverse were removed within days after complaints. The New Orleans Mint struck its last coins that year.
How to recognize it
Abraham Lincoln faces right with IN GOD WE TRUST above, LIBERTY to the left and the date to the right. The mint mark, when there is one, sits below the date. The reverse has two ears of wheat framing ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM across the top. The designer's initials V.D.B. appear on the reverse of some 1909 coins and on Lincoln's shoulder from 1918.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Lincoln Wheat Cent (1909–1958) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,825,000 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze) |
| Weight | 3.11 grams |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Victor David Brenner |
Other 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent | 27,995,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 72,702,618 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909 VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof | 1,194 | Proof | – |
| 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof | 2,352 | Proof | – |
| 1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent | 484,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 1,825,000 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: Lincoln cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.