Money -> Small-Cents -> Lincoln-Wheat-1909-1958
Probably one of the easiest coins to acquire for a coin collection is the wheat penny. This coin was a United States penny minted from 1909 to 1958. The coin goes by many names, including the Lincoln Wheat Cent and Wheatie, and was worth 1 cent at the time it was minted. While few are worth more than that today, some uncirculated mintings have gone for thousands of dollars at auction.
Most of us who had grandparents or parents who kept pennies in jars have been able to search through those coins and find at least one wheat penny or two. The front of the penny looks indistinguishable, at first glance at least, from the pennies minted today because they still bear the bust of Lincoln on the front (or obverse) side of the coin. The back of course is different, because the two wheat stalks that were on the reverse of the wheat penny were replaced with the Lincoln memorial in 1959.
The change in the reverse design, however, isn’t the only different between the wheat penny and the modern penny. And there are even variations among wheat pennies, depending on the year the penny was minted. Some of the wheat pennies produced in the beginning featured the initials of the sculptor, Victor David Brenner, on the reverse side of the coin below the wheat stalks.
This was a cause of controversy, however, and in 1918 the initials VDB were moved to the front of the coin. You must look very closely at a wheat penny from those early years and you’ll see the tiny initials on the bottom of Lincoln’s bust, below his shoulder. The coins produced before the change was made in California are more valuable than most other types of these pennies, because less than half a million were produced by that mint before the public complained enough about the prominent initial display to have it changed.
These early pennies are called “VDB” cents due to the placement of the initials. If you happen to find a 1909 wheat penny with those initials on the back below the wheat stalks that was minted in San Francisco, California, even if the coin is in poor condition, it could be worth hundreds of dollars. Mint coins with that configuration can go for much, much more. VDB cents minted in Philadelphia hold much less value, because more were produced. The 1914-D coins are also typically quite valuable.
A wheat penny with a minting error can also be valuable, such as the 1922 penny that looks plain because the die was full and couldn’t imprint the coin, and one produced in 1955 which appears minted twice, known as the doubled die coin.
If you can find lots of wheat pennies for very little money, you might enjoy looking for these different variations. Someone without an interest in the wheat penny who puts several up for auction in a lot might not even be aware that they’re selling a gem.
Originally posted 2008-11-17 14:00:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Starting a Gold Coin Collection There are a number of different ways that you can buy gold, not only as jewelry or gold bars but also in the form of a gold coin collection as well. Buying into a gold coin collection is a much better option, it is also much simpler and it can...... -
Euro Coins Coins & Paper Money -> Coins: World -> Europe Euro coins were first put into circulation in 2002 by the European Union. There are 8 coins: 1, 2 5, 10 and 20 cent coins, as well a the 100 and 200 cent coins, which equal 1 and 2 Euros, respectively....... -
Coin Parts and Anatomy You are probably already aware of the fact that a coin is simply a metal disc that has been issued by your local government for public consumption as a form of currency. There are a wide variety of different types of coins, however, and not all coins are currently being...... -
Collecting Coins and the Troy Oz Conversion When you are bidding on gold, silver and other coins that are listed by weight, it is important for you to have an understanding of what the weight actually is. If someone is listing an item by weight and they list ounces, then what they may mean is troy ounce,...... -
Earn a Profit Collecting Rare Coins If you are looking to earn a profit with a unique type of collection, then one of the collection options that you may want to consider is rare coins. When you are collecting coins for the purpose of an investment, then it is probably going to follow that you are......
Related Websites - Pros and Cons of Investing in Penny Stocks When you think of trading penny stocks, the major stock exchanges normally come to mind. Such as the the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), or the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). What exactly is a penny stock?A Penny stock is a low......
- How to make an accumulation a collection FMF recently asked about collecting and it reminded me of an article I read in one my coin magazines. Like FMF and many of the other commenters on his post, I have some coins. Having coins -- even a lot of coins -- doesn't by itself make someone a coin......
- Finally, a market for the new dollar coins One of my colleagues at work asked if he could buy one of the Presidential $1 coins off of me. His daughter lost a tooth, and she had requested that he ask the Tooth Fairy for "one of the new gold dollars." My colleague, not 100% sure he could get......
- Basketball Cards Sports Memorabilia -> Autographs - Original -> Basketball - NBA -> Trading Cards Although when most people think of collectible cards, they automatically think baseball, basketball cards are actually incredibly popular. There are thousands on the market and many of them depict some of the best players that ever hit......
- Buying Penny Stocks the Lazy Person's Way Buying penny stocks can produce high profits quickly from relatively small investments, but it also carries quite a bit of risk. Risk can be reduced through careful evaluation of stocks, but the evaluation process is difficult and can require a lot of time.
There is a new computer "bot" that......
