The Lincoln Memorial Cent

Values

A Memorial cent’s market depends on the date, the mint mark, the planchet, and the grade. Copper color is a later conversation. This page is a series reference, not a price list.

The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide. Cells already on the chart were retrieved 2026-08-23. Cells on the dates added later were retrieved 2026-10-05 from that listing’s own price-guide row. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed.

A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.

Key Dates

NGC Coin Explorer is not quoted here as naming a traditional key date in this series. This is a name list, not a price list. Do not invent one.

There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. Named doubled dies belong in Errors.

No key-date list is printed here yet.

Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. This is a name list, not a price list.

Errors

These are named varieties. They are not extra invented rows.

1960 Large Date versus Small Date. NGC printed values for each split and no mintage for either. The chart rows are the published combined Philadelphia and Denver totals. The splits stay off the count column, and those split prices stay off the combined row.

1970-S Large Date versus Small Date. NGC printed no mintage for either. The chart row is the published combined business-strike total. The splits stay off the count column.

1982 bronze versus zinc. That is a spec change. NGC printed no split mintages and no prices on the 1982 and 1982-D listings. The chart uses the published Philadelphia and Denver totals. Bronze and zinc stay off as separate count rows.

Named doubled dies. 1969-S, 1972, 1983, 1984, and 1995 are named. This pass did not print G / VF / MS-63 cells for them, so they stay name-only.

1965–1967 SMS. Special Mint Set cents are their own rows. They were struck at San Francisco with no mint mark and sold in the sets. The count is the set mintage. Cheerios and Wide AM stay off this chart.

Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Memorial page. We do not host their plates.

Varieties

Memorial cents change planchet in 1982 and pick up date-size, doubled-die, and reverse-letter varieties that NGC and PCGS name. The chart does not split those counts. Wheat and Shield are other pages.

• 1960 Large Date and Small DatePhiladelphia and Denver both come in two date sizes. NGC printed values for the splits and no separate count. The chart keeps the combined totals.
• 1970-S Large Date and Small DateTwo date sizes on the San Francisco coin. NGC printed no separate count. The chart row stays the combined total.
• 1982 bronze and zincBoth planchets exist in 1982, and both come in large-date and small-date styles. The chart uses the published Philadelphia and Denver totals. It does not split them.
• 1969-S Doubled Die ObverseA doubled die this page already names. No guide cell was printed for it in this pass, so it stays a name.
• 1972 Doubled Die ObverseA doubled die on the obverse. Guides name more than one 1972 die. This page does not list every one, and it does not print a count.
• 1983 Doubled Die ReverseDoubling on the reverse legend. This page already keeps it name-only.
• 1984 Doubled Die ObverseDoubling on Lincoln’s ear. Guides name it. This page does not print a count.
• 1995 Doubled Die ObverseLIBERTY is doubled. PCGS and NGC both name it. A machine-doubled coin is not this die.
• 1992 Close AMOn 1992 and 1992-D, guides list a Close AM reverse, with the A and M in AMERICA close together. The usual business-strike reverse that year is Wide AM.
• 1998, 1999, and 2000 Wide AMGuides list a Wide AM reverse on some business strikes of those years. It is a letter-spacing variety, not a new portrait.

Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.

Mintage

Memorial cents were struck from 1959 through 2008. Where NGC Coin Explorer printed a count, that figure stays, retrieved 2026-08-23. Where NGC left the mintage blank, the count is the business-strike total on the Wikipedia Lincoln cent mintage figures page, retrieved 2026-10-05. CopperCoins prints the same figure, or, for 1965 and 1967, the same Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco business-strike pieces that add up to the row. 1965 and 1967 have no mint mark. Those business rows leave Special Mint Sets out. 1966 stays the NGC figure, and that figure already includes the Special Mint Set. 1965 SMS, 1966 SMS, and 1967 SMS are their own rows. Each count is the set mintage NGC Coin Explorer printed on that listing, retrieved 2026-10-05. The Wikipedia mintage page prints the same three figures. The 1966 SMS row is the set inside the 1966 NGC total. It is not a second mintage to add. 1960 and 1970-S Large Date / Small Date are not split. 1982 bronze and zinc are not split. Doubled dies, Cheerios, and Wide AM are not rows.

Rows NGC printed are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt. The other counts are the Wikipedia business-strike totals named above, not a Red Book net or melt. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values, not an offer.

Read the date. Read the mint mark. Weigh a 1982 if you need the planchet.

Specifications

These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.

Bronze through early 1982 and copper-plated zinc after that are a spec change. Copper color is a color call. That is not a spec change.

Grading

A Memorial cent wears first on Lincoln’s hair and cheekbone, and on the Memorial columns. Copper color is a color call, not a numeric grade.

1959–1982 bronze and 1982–2008 zinc are a spec change. The Wheat reverse and the later Shield reverse are different pages.

Key Diagnostic Areas

Circulated & Mint State

These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.

See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set. Guide values on this page came from the NGC Price Guide.

Proof Memorial cents exist for much of the run. This page does not invent a PR price grid — NGC did not print one in the 2026-08-23 sheet used here. The proof numbers live on the glossary.

Copper color

BN, RB, and RD describe remaining original color on uncirculated copper. They are not extra numeric grades. The names also live on the glossary.

Overview

A Memorial cent is a United States one-cent coin with Brenner’s Lincoln and Frank Gasparro’s Memorial reverse, struck from 1959 through 2008. Collectors mean those coins, bronze and zinc. The Wheat reverse and the later Shield reverse are different pages. People like Memorial cents because they show up in jars. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped coin looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.

This page is a series article, not a shop listing.

History

Wheat cents end in 1958. The Memorial reverse begins in 1959. In 1982 the planchet changes from bronze to copper-plated zinc. Both exist that year. This page will not invent those split counts. 2009 Bicentennial cents and the Shield reverse from 2010 are later separate pages. This page will not merge them.

This page will not invent a shop list or a melt story to fill the years between.

Design

Obverse: Lincoln facing right, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY,” and the date. Reverse: the Lincoln Memorial, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and “ONE CENT.” Look at the hair, the cheekbone, and the Memorial columns. Those spots go flat first. BN, RB, and RD are color calls. They are not G / VF / MS-63 numbers.

People Also Ask

What years are Lincoln Memorial cents?

The Memorial reverse was struck from 1959 through 2008. This page is that reverse. Wheat cents end in 1958. The 2009 Bicentennial cents and the Shield reverse from 2010 are later separate pages.

How much is a Memorial cent worth?

It depends on the date, the mint mark, the planchet, and the grade. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values, not an offer. Cells already on the chart were retrieved 2026-08-23. Cells on the dates added later were retrieved 2026-10-05. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.

When did Memorial cents change from copper to zinc?

1982 is the transition year. Earlier Memorial cents are bronze. Later ones are copper-plated zinc. Both planchets exist in 1982. NGC did not print split mintages. The chart uses the published Philadelphia and Denver totals. Those counts are not split by planchet.

Is there a key date Memorial cent?

This page does not invent one. NGC Coin Explorer is the catalog used for this pass, and it is not quoted here as naming a traditional key. Named doubled dies stay in Errors.

Should I clean Memorial cents before I sell them?

No. Dip, polish, or a kitchen scrub usually cuts the price. Leave the coins as they are and let a dealer tell you what they see.

Collector Considerations

Buy the coin, not the story. A common zinc date in a high grade can cost more than a worn bronze date someone called “copper” like that was the whole conversation.

If you inherited a jar, do not scrub the date. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio.

For the cent that came before, read the Lincoln Wheat cent. For an earlier small cent, read the Indian Head cent.

A Final Word

Memorial cents reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark. Look at the columns. Leave the polish under the sink.

When you want the earlier Lincoln, the Wheat cent is already here.