Penny's

Indian Head
All Indian head penny's are worth a minimum of $2 each. I have not included any of the double dies, strike overs etc. as they are all key date coins.
Facts:
Average mintage was around 10mil or more. Coins of special value must have a low mintage of 1mil or less.
Key dates and their value (as of 2015) in G4-8 condition are:
1864 with "L" on ribbon $50
1866 $50
1868 $45
1869 $80
1870 $55
1871 $70
1872 $90
1873 only double liberty $200
1877 $900
1878 $35
1894 $30
1908S $85
1909 $14
1909S $550
Of course any coin with special defects (double printing, errors etc.) is a key date.


Lincoln Wheats
All wheats before 1944 in G4-8 condition show a listed value of about $.15 each. All other wheats show a listed value of about $.05-$.10 each.
Key dates and their value (as of 2015) in G4 condition are:
1909 VDB $12
1909 SVDB $850
1909S $100
1910S $17
1911S $47
1912S $22
1913S $14
1914D $215
1914S $22
1915S $20
1922 "no D" $700-$3,000 in F12-EF40 (see story at the bottom of this page)
1923S $4
1924D $40
1926S $9
1931D $5
1931S $110
1933D $3.50
1944D mis-prints D over S
1946S mis-prints S over D
And as always, any coin with special defects (double printing, errors etc.) can be considered a key date with special pricing.

The story behind the 1922 "no D" by Mintex03 published Feb 28, 2015 in Ebay Grading.
The 1922 "Plain", or No"D" Lincoln Cent is perhaps the single most confusing and misunderstood variety in the entire Lincoln Cent series. Over the more than 100 year history of Lincoln Cents, surely there have been many instances where the mint mark became clogged with grease or paraffin or even small metal fragments resulting in coins being produced with missing or partial mintmarks. There are many 1911-D, 1913-D, 1924-D, 1925 &1926-D&S Lincolns with very light to nonexistent mint marks. There is one variety of the 1982-P Roosevelt Dime (Not the 1982 No"P") that apparently suffered this same problem. This die produced partial mint mark coins and in some cases, just a "Blob" that really doesn't look like anything but a slightly raised lump. However, in 1922, all Lincoln Cents were produced at Denver, leaving no other explanation for a 1922 "Plain" cent.

The mintmarks on early Lincolns were rather small and delicate and were easily compromised by grease and other debris. It is easily conceivable that several dies in 1922 (or any other year) could have experienced temporary clogging and produced coins with missing mintmarks. This recognized, it is widely accepted that all true 1922 "Plain" Lincolns were struck between February 26 - March 3, 1922, when a unique set of circumstances forced the Denver Mint to roll the dice and throw caution to the wind. This decision resulted in the production of one of the scarcest (and easily one of the most misunderstood) varities of the Lincoln Cent series, the 1922 No"D" Lincoln cent. A total of thirty die pairs were shipped to the Denver Mint for 1922-D Lincoln Cent production. Although the Denver Mint averaged approximately 400,000 strikes per die pair throughout the later 1930's and 1940's, that number was much more like 250,000-300,000 in the early 1920's. Ordinarily, with a relatively small order of only 7.1 million coins, 30 die pairs should have been adequate, but several of the Denver Mint's presses dated back as early as 1885, and were already considerably "used" when originally moved there in 1906 from Philadelphia. Old, worn out machines resulted in excessive die wear causing many dies to be retired far earlier than expected. By Feb.26 of that year, the mint was using the last available new 1922-D obverse die, presumably, Die #30, There were still 507,000 coins yet to be produced in order to fulfill Denver Mint's production quota. In addition, there were no new reverse dies left either. A reverse die, presumably left over from the 1920 production year was paired to this die. At the same time, Denver was also gearing-up to strike 15,000,000 new 1922-D Peace Dollars. Denver Mint's head coiner requested four additional cent die pairs but was informed by Philadelphia's Engraving Department that no additional new dies would be shipped, and that they would simply have to "make due with what they had on hand". In order to continue, two very worn obverse dies were cleaned and "strengthened" and placed back into production. These are the dies later referred to as 1922 No"D", Dies #1 & 3. These dies were only capable of producing coins with about 65% of the normal detail and relief. The reverse dies used along with these two obverses were considerably worse, and were considered unserviceable, retaining at best 45% original details.

Normal die wear progression usually followed a trend whereby the first 5000-15000 strikes (early die state) were sharp, chiseled looking coins with glossy fields, which gives way to what most of us called ordinary business strikes (medium die state), which would number anywhere from 100K - 200K (or more) coins. From this point, most dies would usually began to lose details (late die state) or fail rapidly. In all but a few cases, dies were retired before reaching this stage. However, having already reached late to terminal die stage before being forced back into production, Dies #1 & 3, were easily and frequently compromised by metal fragments, grease, dirt, and other debris. This resulted in the production of thousands of "Weak D", "Partial D", and in some cases "No D" coins from clogged dies with "weak reverses". As the debris became dislodged, normal 1922-D impressions would resume. By "Normal 1922-D's", you have to remember that the mintmark details would have been as severely eroded as all the rest of the die's features. Both of these dies quickly became unusable (late/terminal die state). Die #1's reverse die shattered, as evidenced by the severe die crack that appears from the 11:00 position at the rim, downward through the letter "O" in ONE (CENT). Other reverse die cracks quickly appeared at 9:00 o'clock and 2:00 o'clock positions, all radiating to the center of the die. Die #3 soon followed as evidenced by the last coins produced with wheat stalks that "mushed" into the rims, resembling coins that, even when new, showed details of FAIR / AG reverse grades. Die #3 coins can further be identified by the reverse die which is about 15% rotated to the left, and the lower left bottom of the "O" of ONE (CENT), which is significantly spread from wear. These two dies probably produced up to 200,000 strikes.

The last of the new 1922-D dies (of the original 30 obverse dies), even after substantial use (probably 200,000 or more normal strikes) still retained fairly strong details. The new reverse die that was supplied early on for this obverse die, (presumably left over from 1920 production) although still serviceable, was beginning to experience slight "mushing" (losing details) and it was cleaned and strengthened. On the obverse die, the letters ". . . RTY" of LIBERTY and the word TRUST were re-engraved. Also, in an effort to remove a minor clash mark in the mintmark area, this portion of the die was reground and polished resulting in the total removal of the already weakened "D" mintmark, along with the lower portion of Lincoln's coat. (Very much like the right front leg on the 1937-D, "3-Legged" Buffalo nickel) AT THIS POINT this die became 1922 No"D" Die #2. The remaining 75,000-100,000 or so coins it produced were truly "No D" coins. While not the rarest of the 1922 No"D" cents, Die #2 coins certainly are the most desirable, the most valuable, and the easiest to identify and certify. Of this last half-million coins produced, there were probably no more than 100,000 total No"D" coins produced, somewhere around 75,000-100,000+/- from Die #2, and maybe as many as another 10,000+/- No"D" coins from Dies #1 & 3. Practically all of the coins referred to as Weak "D" or Partial "D" cents were also produced from Dies #1 & 3 and may number as many as another 100,000 or more coins. When finally retired, Dies #1 & 3 (obverse) were producing coins with as little as 25-35% overall relief and detail, and many Die #3 acoins retained less than 20% reverse details even in mint state!

In recent years, I have seen a several coins that have been authenticated by different services as coins from Die #4. There really is no such die. I have inspected many of these and what I believe exists here is a further use of Obverse Die #3, paired with an absolutely worn-out reverse die. Maybe a few thousand coins were still needed and this was just a means to complete the order. None of these coins (that I have seen) displays enough detail to warrant investing any money into. At best, they have 20% obverse details, and virtually 5-20% reverse details. Many of these coins details and legends are not even readable. These coins aren't collectible!

There is a lot of confusion in the authentication and grading of the 1922 "Plain" (No"D") Cents. Lets first address authentication of coins from Dies #1 & 3: This is pretty straightforward. If you look straight down on the coin and see a "D" or even a partial "D", it is NOT a 1922 "Plain". If you can turn or tilt the coin to one side or another, and a "D" or "obvious" partial or "shadow D" mintmark is there, you are looking at a Weak "D" coin. True 1922 "Plain" cents should not display anything "discernible" as a mintmark . . . BEWARE!!! According to the ANA, You may still see SOMETHING where a mintmark should be. However, whatever you can see SHOULD NOT be identifiable as anything that even remotely resembles a "D". These coins should always be purchased "slabbed", or from a reputable dealer who knows what he is doing! If you buy this coin "RAW", you should submit it immediately for certification so that you truly know what you have. It would also not be a bad idea to have an agreement with your coin dealer, preferably in writing, that this coin is returnable for a FULL REFUND if it does not slab as a 1922 No"D" coin. STILL HOWEVER, with no consistent yardstick to go by, there is still enough confusion surrounding this coin, that in certain cases if you were to submit the same coin to ANACS, PCGS, or NGC twice each, you could possibly receive six different opinions! Use your own eyes and judgment! If you are going to invest your hard earned money, you'd better know what you are doing and know the person who is selling it. Remember, you are buying the COIN, not the WORTHLESS CHUNK OF PLASTIC surrounding it. If there is any pressure, or the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is!

A true Die #2 (No"D") coin should have NO sign of a mintmark, and will have a normal reverse. There are many "Weak "D" coins with strong reverses. Don't forget, there were 27 other dies that wore out too. Remember, this die didn't lose it's "D" mintmark until it was strengthened and polished to remove clash marks below the date. As a collector you should be aware that many Weak"D" coins have mistakenly ended up in holders labeled as 1922 No"D" Strong Reverse coins! SO, BUYER BEWARE! A good rule of thumb to follow when purchasing ANY 1922 No"D" Lincoln Cent, is to put aside the fact that a coin dealer is selling it, and consider that you are instead buying it from yourself. . . . "NOW, WOULD YOU STILL BUY THAT COIN?"

When it comes to grading, there are a lot of problems with these coins. Coins produced from Dies #1 & 3 began their "Second Lifetimes" with as little as 45%-60% of the normal relief details. I have seen several pieces that were High Grade to Brown or Red/Brown Uncirculated, that had details resembling coins grading between AG-FINE conditions. Back in the early 1980's, I had an 80% RED Die #3 example that was graded by ANACS (Photo-certification) as Obv.VF30/Rev.VG08, recolored! Obviously ridiculous, I accompanied the coin along with Mr. Virgil Hancock, former ANA President, to ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs for a discussion. My argument being, that special grading consideration had to be afforded to this variety in order to avoid penalizing this coin for "Missing details that were never there in the first place"! They agreed with my argument concerning that coin, and regraded it BU62/BU60. In terms of value, I'd say that was quite a difference! On individual coins, strike and wear patterns must be studied to accurately set a proper grade (Buffalo Nickels are a prime example of this). Coin authentication and grading is an ongoing learning process, and this process is still evolving. Subsequently, there will be instances where rarity and grading opinions will vary in the future, and some grades will be upgraded, and others downgraded. Ultimately, if you do not agree with the professionally assigned grade of a coin, walk away and find another coin whose grade is more agreeable to you - IT'S YOUR MONEY - so buy a coin that you will still like next week, or next year!

True 1922 No"D" Lincolns are very scarce and expensive coins. Most Lincoln Cent specialists would agree that they are at least twice as scarce as the 1909-S V.D.B. TRUE 1922 NO"D" coins (certified) produced by Dies #1 & 3, although many times more scarce than Die #2 (No"D") pieces, ARE NOT AS DESIRABLE, ARE NOT AS VALUABLE, and DO NOT SELL AS EASILY as the Die #2 coins. The Die #2 coins are considerably more desirable because they are so much easier to identify. They also come with a strong reverse, affording them traditional grading. Many Lincoln Cent "purists", advanced collectors, do however, include a specimen of all three die varieties of this coin as a part of their collection. Those coins referred to as Weak "D" or Partial "D" coins are worth only a small premium (if anything) over regular 1922-D coins. Although in reality, they too are a scarce type, there is currently little interest or market for them.

This guide is offered as basic information to those individuals considering collecting or investing in these coins. In my opinion, this is necessary information in order make an educated purchase. If you have found this review helpful in any way, or interesting in content, I would appreciate your vote of (YES) at the bottom of this page. Information sources available upon request. - Mintex03