1912-S Lincoln Wheat Cent
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 4,431,000 made
- Mintage
- 4,431,000
- 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 1912-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 1912-S Lincoln Wheat Cent rare?
- Somewhat. 4,431,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1912 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 1912 are scarcer?
- The 1909-S VDB at 484,000, the 1909-S at 1,825,000, the 1911-S at 4,026,000, plus 1 more. So the 1912-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1912-S Lincoln Wheat Cent coins were made?
- 4,431,000.
What to check on your 1912-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 1912-D (10 million 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 1912 Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof (2,145 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 1912-S
Output at San Francisco climbed to 4,431,000 in 1912, from 4 million the year before. The next year it made 6.1 million (1913-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1912 alone came to 68 million, roughly 15 for every 1912-S. If you're checking a pile of 1912 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1931-D (4,480,000) and the 1926-S (4,550,000).
San Francisco struck the Lincoln Wheat Cent in 44 issues between 1909 and 1955. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1909-S VDB (484,000). Within the 1910s it's 4th smallest of 29, between the 1914-S (4.1 million) and the 1915-S (4.8 million).
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 1912
Denver and San Francisco struck nickels for the first time, the only branch-mint Liberty Head nickels. It was the last regular year of the design.
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 | 1912 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 4,431,000 |
| 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 1912 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 68,153,060 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1912 Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof | 2,145 | Proof | – |
| 1912-D Lincoln Wheat Cent | 10,411,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1912-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 4,431,000 | 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.