Surfing the internet to find the value of the Wheat penny you found in a preserved box? Or Are you a collector gathering knowledge about the 1940 Wheat Penny value?
Applause! You have come to the right place!
This article will decipher the value of the 1940 wheat penny with the factors that influenced it. But before that, it is necessary to understand the history of the Wheat penny and its general value.
The 1940 Wheat Penny value ranges from $4 to $11,000 depending on the coin condition, mintmark, and error involved.
The 1940 wheat penny was struck at the facilities of Philadelphia (no mintmark), Denver (D), and San Francisco (S).
There are two main errors for the 1940 Wheat penny: the Double Die Obverse and the Repunched Mint mark.
The errors fetch a value of $70 and $175, respectively, based on the historical auction records.
First Lincoln Cents Minted: The Wheat penny design is introduced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
Historic Design: The coin becomes the first US coin to feature a real person, replacing the traditional Lady Liberty on the "heads" side.
Designer: Victor David Brenner creates both the portrait of Lincoln and the ears of wheat on the reverse.
Brenner’s Initials Return: After initially being removed, Brenner's initials ("V.D.B.") are reinstated, appearing on the cut-off at the bottom of Lincoln's portrait.
Composition: Wheat pennies are minted using the same composition as earlier coins: 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc.
Material Shortages: Due to the United States' involvement in World War II, copper and tin shortages lead to reduced production of bronze cents.
Steel Pennies Introduced: Wheat pennies are temporarily made from steel coated in zinc to conserve copper and tin for the war effort.
Bronze Pennies Return: Production of bronze cents resumes with recycled ammunition shell casings.
Reverse Design Change: After 50 years, the Wheat penny's reverse design is replaced by the Lincoln Memorial, honoring Lincoln’s contributions.
Union Shield Design: The reverse design changes again to feature the "Union Shield," symbolizing the nation’s unity, and remains in use today.
Interesting history, right? Makes you wonder what the actual value of the 1940 Wheat penny is! However, before dissecting the value of the penny, let’s have a look at the factors that are influence the 1940 wheat penny value, that also will be discussed later.
The Features of the 1940 Wheat Penny
1940 Wheat Penny Mint Marks
Grading of the 1940 Wheat Penny
Rare Variations and Errors
These are the main factors that provide the answer to the question: what is the 1940 penny worth today?
Considering the above mentioned factors, the 1940 wheat penny value ranges from $4 to $11,000. Keep reading to find out the reasons of the price!
The obverse design of the 1940 Wheat Penny depicts the bust of President Lincoln wearing a full suit. The effigy shows Lincoln from the shoulder and up facing to the right.
The obverse also includes the inscriptions, “IN GOD WE TRUST. LIBERTY. 1940,” representing the US Motto and the year of the mintage.
Point to note: The obverse also displays the mint mark right below the year, which will be discussed later in the article.
The reverse of the Penny is rather simple yet symbolic. It displays the US Motto, “E PLURIBUS UNUM. ONE CENT. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” representing the US Motto, denomination, and the country of issue.
The design carries forward the purpose of freedom and liberty by depicting two wreaths on either side of the denomination standing for unity.
The 1940 Wheat penny is made of 95% copper, with the remainder of tin or zinc. The coin has a total weight of 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19 mm.
When the Penny doesn’t bear any mintmark below the year of mintage on the obverse, it is produced in the Philadelphia Mint. While this sounds like a special feature, the no-mint-mark 1940 Wheat penny are considerably common. The mintage at Philadelphia was at a astonishing number of 587 million in total.
However, the fun part is:
According to PCGS, only 12,000 of them still survive and only half of them are of the “gem” quality. Gem quality means that the coins are graded MS65 or higher on the grading scale.
The no mint mark 1940 Wheat penny value can range from $4 to as high as $9000 based on the color and grade.
The Philadelphia mint also struck the Proof versions of the 1940 wheat penny along with the regular ones. These coins were later made to target the collectors using the special planchats and dies that are found with 4 different levels.
From the four, the three standard color types are for the copper coins, while certain proof version are labelled as perfect cameos.
Considering the grades and color, the 1940 Proof Wheat penny value ranges from $25 to $15,000.
The Wheat pennies struck at the Denver Mint bear the mint mark “D.” Despite having mintage far less than that Philadelphia Mint around 81 million of them still survive. However, the number drastically decreases since PCGS estimated only 18,000 remain and only half with grades higher than MS65.
So, What are their values?
The values of the 1940 D Wheat Pennies are rather similar to the Philadelphia facility, unless there is a error involved. The Denver struck 1940 Wheat penny value ranges from $5 to $10,000 depending on the grade.
Similar to the above pattern, the “S” mintmark is designated to the pennies that were struck in the San Francisco facility of the US Mint. The number of mintage in this facility is 113 million, however, the coins that still remain are the same as Denver’s with 18,000.
If we go to the top of the grading scale, the available coin number is halfen. The 1940 S wheat penny value considering the grades ranges from $6 to $12,000 (MS68 red pennies).
When evaluating the value of the 1940 Wheat Penny, the coin grade are a part of the puzzle. Grading plays a crucial role in the determination of the 1940 wheat penny value.
Here is a comprehensive table that corresponds the grades with the conditions that are available in the market:
| # | Grade |
|---|---|
| 1 | Basal State-1 |
| 2 | Fair |
| 3 | Very Fair |
| 4, 5, 6 | Good |
| 7, 8, 10 | Very Good |
| 12, 15 | Fine |
| 20, 30 | Very Fine |
| 40 | Extremely Fine |
| 50 | About Uncirculated |
| 60 | Mint State |
| 65 | Mint State |
| 70 | Mint State |
When talking about errors, there are two main errors for the 1940 Wheat penny with both surfacing from the San Francisco mint.
The Repunched Mint Mark (RPM) occurs when the mint mark is punched more than once on the same coin. While this was prominent to San Francisco, some of the Denver mint pennies also had this error.
This error can be spotted easily with the use of a microscope. This error is often valued based on the position of the first and the second/latter punches. Furthermore, the condition of the coin also matters in the case of error coins.
The repunched mint mark 1940 S wheat penny value was sold at an auction for $70 with the MS64 grade and red color.
The double die occurs when there is a manufacturing problem with the die that is used to strike the coins. The coin has to be struck twice or more to get the precise design imprinted on it. While this process is conducted, if the coin shifts between striking, it leaves a double image.
Depending on where the double image is struck the error is named, meaning, Double Die Obverse or Double Die Reverse (DDR). This error on the Wheat Penny fetches values of about $175, which was the price at which a coin was sold at the auction with the MS67 grade from ANACS.
As Abraham Lincoln rightly said, “Nothing Valuable can be lost by taking time!” Take your time to build concrete knowledge about the 1940 Wheat penny, which will surely go a long way in your investment or collection journey.
Now that you know the 1940 wheat penny value, you can get the optimal price for the penny if you are looking to sell it. To sell such coins, you can look for auctions held by the coin grading services like NGC and PCGS, Heritage Auctions, and Stack’s Bowers. You can also explore options like eBay and coin world.
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