How Much Is My Penny Worth?

Find Out How Much Your Old Pennies Are Worth

United States Wheat Pennies Cents
Tim Boyle/Getty Images News

Although many factors determine the value of a coin, you can quickly determine the value of your penny by knowing the date, mint mark, and grade.

The United States Mint has made four different types of small cents:

Finding the Value of Your Penny

To find out how much your U.S. penny is worth, we first need to determine its type. The U.S. has made two major types of pennies, the Large Cent, and the Small Cent. The Large Cents are dated 1857 and earlier and are much bigger and heavier than our current penny type, the Small Cent. If you have Large Cents in your collection that you need information or values for, I recommend that you find an honest coin dealer to help you evaluate them, as Large Cents have many different varieties for most dates, and shouldn't be priced using an online price guide if you want maximum money for them.

Determine Your Penny Type

If your penny is the Small Cent type, it will be about the same size as the ones we use today although it might be a tiny bit heavier. The United States Mint currently makes all one-cent coins on zinc planchets that have a thin layer of pure copper covering the entire surface. Pennies minted before 1982 were made of solid copper or bronze. This alloy is slightly heavier than the current zinc plated alloy that the mint is currently using.

What is My Flying Eagle Cent Worth?

If your small-sized penny is dated 1857 or 1858, it is a Flying Eagle Cent. A Flying Eagle Cent in well-worn condition is worth about $15 to $25 if you sold it to a coin dealer. (Note: Most of the coin prices are realistic amounts that a dealer will pay you. They're not retail or "catalog" values like you find virtually everywhere else. Most people looking for coin prices want to know how much they can sell their coins for today.)

If your Flying Eagle Cent is dated 1856, you need to take it to a dealer to get an appraisal. This penny is very rare, with a mintage of only 2,000 specimens, and forgeries and alterations of this date are far more common than the genuine 1856. The 1856 Flying Eagle Cent is considered to be a pattern coin, rather than a circulation issue by many experts. For a full chart of Indian Flying Eagle Penny values, see:

What is My Indian Head Penny Worth?

Indian Head pennies are dated from 1859 through 1909, and have a depiction of Lady Liberty wearing an Indian-style feathered headdress, hence the misnomer "Indian Head" Penny. In general, all Indian Head Pennies are worth at least $1 each, even in very worn condition, as long as they're not severely damaged. For a full chart of Indian Head Penny prices, see:

What is My Wheat Penny Worth?

Wheat Pennies are dated from 1909 to 1958 and have a portrait of Lincoln on one side, and a wreath-like design of wheat heads on the other. Sometimes called "Lincoln Cents" (without mentioning the Memorial as described below,) they are made of almost pure copper (95%) except for one year, the 1943 penny, which is made of zinc-plated steel. All Wheat Pennies are worth at least three times face value, but of course many are worth substantially more especially the key date Wheat pennies.

What is My Lincoln Memorial Penny Worth?

Lincoln Memorial Pennies are dated 1959 to current and have a portrait of Lincoln on one side of the Lincoln Memorial building on the other. They were made of 95% copper until 1982. During 1982 the composition was changed to 97.5% zinc, with a thin copper plating, so that you have pennies dated 1982 made of both metal types. From 1983 until today, all U.S. pennies are made of mostly zinc. Most Lincoln Memorial Pennies are only worth face value unless they have their original copper luster from the Mint.

In 2009, the U.S. Mint issued a unique commemorative set of four pennies to celebrate the 100th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth and the Lincoln cent design. Lincoln Cents enjoyed a surge in popularity, which meant some higher values for these incredibly popular pennies.

The United States Mint in 2010 permanently changed the reverse of the Lincoln cent to feature a shield with E PLURIBUS UNUM at the top and a banner emblazoned with ONE CENT across the shield. These new coins are known as the Lincoln Shield Reverse penny.

Edited by: James Bucki