1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 1,193,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,193,000
- 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 1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1914-D is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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.
The 1914-D is one of the two great Lincoln cent keys. Many counterfeits are made by altering the date of a 1944-D, so authentication is essential.
Quick answers
- Is the 1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent rare?
- Somewhat. 1,193,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1914 Lincoln Wheat Cent?
- On the obverse, directly below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 1914 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Denver issue had a smaller mintage than the 1914-D.
- How many 1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent coins were made?
- 1,193,000.
What to check on your 1914-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1914-S (4.1 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 1914 Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof (1,365 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 1914-D
Production at Denver fell off a cliff in 1914. Only 1,193,000 were made, against 16 million the year before. That drop is why the 1914-D is the one people look for. In 1915 the figure was 22 million.
The other mints made far more that year: 1914 alone came to 75 million, roughly 63 for every 1914-D. If you're checking a pile of 1914 coins, the D is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1931-S (866,000) and the 1909-S (1,825,000).
Of the 46 Lincoln Wheat Cents Denver struck between 1911 and 1958, this is the scarcest. No Lincoln Wheat Cent of the 1910s had a smaller run.
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 1914
Denver's small cent output in 1914 created one of the great Lincoln cent key dates, the 1914-D.
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 | 1914 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,193,000 |
| 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 1914 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 75,238,432 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1914 Lincoln Wheat Cent Matte Proof | 1,365 | Proof | – |
| 1914-D Lincoln Wheat Cent | 1,193,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1914-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 4,137,000 | 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.