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Wheat Pennies

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From 1859 until 1909, the mint issued the Indian penny, which contained an Indian head front and a laurel wreath design on the reverse. Upon the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, however, the government approved a new design for the penny, and the wheat penny (also known as the Lincoln Cent or as the Lincoln Wheat Ears Cent) became the primary penny in U.S. circulation from 1909 until 1958.

The wheat penny features a profile of Lincoln on the front of the coin and two stalks of wheat around the edge of the reverse of the coin. The wheat stalks surround the words “ONE CENT” and the smaller printed words, “United States of America.” The depiction of wheat stalks on the reverse of the coin also provides the coin with its popular name—the wheat penny.

In 1959, the U.S. Mint replaced the wheat penny with the current penny, which maintains Lincoln’s profile on the front of the coin but substitutes a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial for the wheat stalks on the reverse of the coin.

Almost all versions of the wheat penny are common enough that they are worth less than one dollar. Some dates maintain more significant value, but the main attraction to the wheat penny is that it is among the most easily obtainable non-issue coins. Many wheat pennies even remain in circulation and are easily overlooked because the front of the coin is identical that of the current penny.

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