1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (White metal pattern)
Variety of the 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 2 made
- Mintage
- 2 (approx.)
- 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 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (White metal pattern) worth?
Value depends entirely on whether the coin is genuine and on its condition. Have any candidate authenticated before you buy or sell.
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (White metal pattern) rare?
- Yes. It's a variety or error, not a regular issue. Only about 2 are thought to exist.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent?
- On the obverse, directly below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark.
- How many 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (White metal pattern) coins were made?
- 2 (approximately).
What to check on your 1942
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent Proof (32,600 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.
Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1942
The Depression low and the late 1930s boom (1930 to 1942)
The Depression cut cent demand sharply. Production fell to 19 million in Philadelphia in 1931. San Francisco struck just 866,000, creating the 1931-S, a key date that many people saved at the time, so it is more available in uncirculated grades than its mintage suggests. Output stayed low in 1932 and 1933, with no San Francisco cents in either year. Recovery began in 1934, when Philadelphia struck 219 million.
Proof cents returned in 1936, first with a satin finish and later with a brilliant finish. The 1936 also has a doubled die obverse. Output climbed through the late 1930s and topped 887 million in Philadelphia in 1941 as the defense buildup increased spending. Because collecting albums became popular in this decade, many rolls were saved, so uncirculated red coins from 1934 onward are much easier to find than earlier dates.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1942
Nickel was needed for the war, so from October 1942 the five-cent coin was struck in an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. These war nickels carry a large mint mark above Monticello, the first use of a "P" mint mark.
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 | 1942 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2 (approx.) |
| 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 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 657,796,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (White metal pattern) | about 2 known | Variety | – |
| 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (Aluminum pattern) | about 1 known | Variety | – |
| 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (Copper-plated Steel pattern) | – | Variety | – |
| 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent (Zinc-plated Steel pattern) | – | Variety | – |
| 1942 Lincoln Wheat Cent Proof | 32,600 | Proof | – |
| 1942-D Lincoln Wheat Cent | 206,698,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1942-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 85,590,000 | 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.