November 23, 2022 by John Parker
There are more than 300 coins in the Lincoln Cent Series. I've owned them all at various times, and as I write this article, I currently posses all but a handful (58DDO, 72DDO).
But, I'm sitting here thinking out loud, "which ones are my favorite?" Several come to mind immediately like the 55DDO and the 09-S VDB. So I starting jotting down my 10 favorite in the Lincoln Series and here they are for you to enjoy. I wonder, what are your favorites? Please leave your comments below.
NUMBER 10 - 1931-S
San Francisco only minted 866,000 of these, and as the series goes this number is TINY! I try to acquire this coin every chance I get, not only because they are so rare, but also because of the history represented by a 1931 coin. Consider these major happenings from 1931.
1.The Great Plains suffers devastating droughts, dust storms, and soil erosion during
the Dust Bowl years.
2.Empire State Building is completed and opens.
3. An 8.3 magnitude Hawke's Bay Earthquake hits New Zealand.
4. U.S. National Anthem becomes The Star Spangled Banner.
NUMBER 9 - 1914-D
Denver minted 1.193 million Lincoln Cents in 1914. Can you imagine all the changes that have occurred in the US since 1914, well over 100 years ago? The longest paved road in 1914 was a mere 23 miles long (Arkansas), there were very few cars, and the invention of the airplane was only 11 years earlier. Shocking! By the way, the 1914-D Lincoln Cent is VERY valuable and highly sought by collectors!
NUMBER 8 - 1958 DDO
The 1958 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent shows profound doubling and is worth ALOT of money.
In fact in March of 2018, one sold for $336,000 at Heritage Auction House! How 'bout that for a "pretty penny?" I also like this one, because it is the very last penny in the "wheat" section of the Lincoln Cents. A true beauty. In 1959 the Lincoln Memorial reverse was designed to honor the 150th birthday or President Lincoln.
NUMBER 7 - 2017-P
I must admit I only learned about this penny a few days ago. My father was looking through some coins when he called to ask if there was a 2017 marked with a "P"? I said, "not that I know of." Then I began my research and discovered quickly that YES, there is ONE marked with a "P." I was SHOCKED! How could I not know about this? Just proves the point that we're all learning together in this numismatic world. No one ever "arrives" we just all continue growing in knowledge and helping one another.
Turns out the US Mint turned 225 years old in 2017 and celebrated their birthday by slapping a big giant "P" on the Philly pennies that year. Take a look; it's now one of my favorites:
NUMBER 6 - 2009 (all reverses)
2009 marked the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest leaders our country has ever had. And, to honor Lincoln on his birthday, FOUR unique reverses were designed: 1. Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky
2. Formative Years in Indiana
3. Professional Life in Illinois
4. Presidency in Washington, D.C.
I find these coins to be very interesting and highly collectible. I grab every one I can, especially the satin-finished ones.
NUMBER 5 - 1955-S
The 1955-S is not extremely rare, but I like it for sentimental reasons. There were 44.6 million minted, but it seems they were hard to come by in my early collecting years. I specifically remember coin hunting with my grandfather and looking for a 1955-S. When we DID finally find one, it was an exhilarating moment in my early collecting days. Do you have a collecting memory you'd like to share with me? Comment below please.
NUMBER 4 - 1922 (no D)
Only Denver minted a penny in 1922. And they only made 7.1 million of them, a very low total in the Lincoln Cent Series. HOWEVER, a number of the 1922's escaped the mint WITHOUT a mint mark! And so we have the 1922 "NO D" coin in circulation. And in March of 2018, one sold at auction for $48,000 ! ! ! Pretty cool and one of my favorites!
NUMBER 3 - 1909-S VDB
The Lincoln Cent was created to honor Abe Lincoln's 100'th birthday, and so the series began, and is still going today. The coin's designer, Victor David Brenner, minted his initials on the coin's reverse between the wheat leaves on 484,000 of the SF coins. The resulting 1909-s VDB is the KING of the Lincoln Series and is highly sought by collectors all over the world. In April of 2022, one sold at auction for $168,000, and many have sold for well over five digit totals. I have bought and sold a good number of these and I'm always in awe when I have one in my hand. One of my VERY favorites!
NUMBER 2 - 1955 DDO
The very first Doubled Die Penny I ever owned was a 1955. I am fascinated by this coin and what it takes for this anomaly to occur at the mint. Im also intrigued at the stories of collectors coming across many of these in a pack of cigarettes in 1955 vending machines. You can read all about that here . I have owned several of these coins and think they're beautiful and amazing!
NUMBER 1 - 2019-W
The West Point mint began minting coins in 1937 and even during the 1970's & 1980's minted Lincoln Cents. BUT, it wasn't until 2019, that a West Point mint mark of "W" appeared on a single cent. And, they minted THREE different strikes of these amazing coins. 1. The PROOF strike 2. The REVERSE PROOF strike and 3. The UNCIRCULATED version.
Not only did the mint break precedence with "W" pennies, they also minted a TINY total for each strike. Here are the totals:
UNCIRCULATED = 346,117
PROOF = 629,342
REVERSE PROOF = 412,508
These totals are EXTREMELY LOW, making this one of the most highly sought after coins in the entire Lincoln Cent Series. I absolutely LOVE this penny, and it is my very favorite of ALL the Lincoln Cents. I buy them whenever I can, because I believe they are a GENERATIONAL coin and will be worth great sums 30, 40, 50 years from now.
Well, there you have it; my TOP TEN favorite Lincoln Cents. Now, tell me yours in the comments below.
Happy Thanksgiving!
John Parker
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