U.S. COIN REFERENCE · Lincoln Wheat cent
Lincoln Wheat cents: ordinary dates and extraordinary claims
A Wheat reverse identifies a broad family; a key date needs finer evidence.
By SalarsNet · Reviewed October 5, 2026
Begin with date, mint, and the reverse initials
The Wheat reverse spans 1909–1958, with a steel type in 1943. VDB initials and the mintmark matter to a 1909 attribution. The recognized key group includes 1909-S VDB, 1909-S, 1914-D, 1922 Plain, and 1931-S. An album vacancy is useful context but cannot authenticate a mark or supply an unreadable digit.
Type references: PCGS Lincoln Cent (Wheat Reverse) ↗
An absent mark can require positive diagnostics
The 1922 Plain is a die-attribution problem, not permission to call every weak or obscured D a valuable No D. Photograph the date, mint area, and reverse, then use the required die markers. For doubled-die candidates, compare the contours with an appropriate reference; machine doubling can produce a lower shelf beside a letter.
Type references: PCGS Lincoln Cent (Wheat Reverse) ↗
Grade the actual copper or steel surfaces
Inspect the cheek, jaw, hair, wheat lines, and fields. Rust, replating, corrosion, and cleaning need their own descriptions. For pricing, ordinary circulated Wheats should be compared with ordinary circulated examples. A certified red coin or a confirmed 1917 or 1936 doubled die belongs to a more specific market than the design family alone.
Type references: PCGS Lincoln Cent (Wheat Reverse) ↗
Selected reviewed issue records
These catalog standards describe the named issue, not a measured specimen. The selected records below do not cover every date, mint, strike, or die variety. Reported production is labeled separately from established mintage. Unknown standards and mintage remain visible; survival estimates and certified populations are separate research questions.
No issue-level specification or mintage records are published for this category yet. Verify the exact date, mint, strike, metal, and subtype in its reference before using a numerical standard.
References and review
Reference reviewed October 5, 2026. Historical facts and catalog standards need to match the exact issue; price comparisons should be researched at the time of valuation.