Key Dates for Wheat Pennies: What Collectors Need to Know
Lincoln Wheat pennies are among the most sought-after coins for collectors, not only for their historical significance but also for their potential value. If you’re exploring the world of Wheat cents, knowing the key dates, semi-key dates, and better issues is essential. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you identify these valuable coins.
Key Date Wheat Pennies These are the most valuable and rare Lincoln Wheat cents, often fetching the highest prices due to their limited mintages or historical significance:
- 1909-S
- 1909-S VDB
- 1914-D
- 1931-S
Semi-Key Dates While not as rare as key dates, these coins are still highly collectible and valuable:
- 1909 VDB
- 1910-S
- 1911-S
- 1912-S
- 1913-S
- 1914-S
- 1915-S
- 1922-D
- 1924-D
- 1926-S
Better Dates (or Better Issues) These coins may not have the rarity of key or semi-key dates but are still more valuable than common Wheat cents:
- 1909
- 1911-D
- 1912
- 1912-D
- 1913-D
- 1915-D
- 1916-D
- 1916-S
- 1920-D
- 1921-S
- 1923-S
- 1925-D
- 1925-S
- 1926-D
- 1927-D
- 1927-S
- 1928-S
- 1931-D
- 1932
- 1932-D
- 1933
- 1933-D
Why Are Key Dates So Valuable? Key dates, semi-key dates, and better issues are valuable due to their scarcity, historical significance, and demand among collectors. For example, the 1909-S VDB (Victor David Brenner) coin is famous for its low mintage and its place in the first year of the Lincoln cent series.
