Most wheat pennies are common and sell as a group at modest prices. The ones worth more pair a scarce date and mint mark with a strong grade and original color. Indian Head cents from 1859 to 1909, and early wheat cents with a D or S under the date, deserve a careful look before a jar is sold as one lot.
Old cents by type and years
Turn the coin over first. The back tells you which type of cent you have faster than the front does, even on a worn coin.
Indian Head cents ran from 1859 to 1909, and Lincoln cents with two wheat ears on the back ran from 1909 to 1958, so 1909 saw both. In 1943 the Mint made cents from zinc-coated steel. The Lincoln Memorial reverse arrived in 1959, cents switched to copper-plated zinc in 1982, and the U.S. Mint struck its last circulating cents in 2025.
Any cent you cannot place from the back, such as a thin coin with a foreign design or a token with no date, belongs in a separate pile.
| If the back shows | You have | Dates | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| A wreath around ONE CENT | Indian Head cent | 1859 to 1909 | Date and wear |
| Two wheat ears beside ONE CENT | Lincoln wheat cent | 1909 to 1958 | Date, mint mark under the date, color |
| Wheat ears on a gray coin dated 1943 | Zinc-coated steel cent | 1943 | Rust, spots, and whether a magnet sticks |
| The Lincoln Memorial building | Memorial cent | From 1959 | Usually face value |
| Any design, dated after 1982 | Copper-plated zinc cent | After 1982 | Usually face value |
Why most wheat cents are common
Wheat cents were made for half a century and spent decades in circulation. The Mint struck them in huge numbers at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco, and millions of people tossed them into jars. That is why so many still turn up, and why an average worn wheat cent is easy to find.
Common does not mean worthless. Wheat cents dated in the 1940s and 1950s still sell as a group, and collectors filling albums want clean examples. They are priced together, by count, while the coins that stand out are priced one at a time.
Indian Head cents follow a similar pattern. Most are worn, with dates that saw plenty of production, and they bring a little more than wheat cents. A few dates, and any Indian Head cent with sharp detail, are worth pulling aside for a closer look.
Rolls are a special case. A paper or plastic roll of wheat cents that has never been opened may hold coins in better condition than loose ones, and sometimes a whole roll from one year and mint. Leave rolls closed and let a buyer check the ends and decide whether to open them in front of you.
A jar's age offers a hint about what is inside. A can started in the 1930s and abandoned in the 1950s may hold more early dates than one that kept collecting change for decades after. Either way, the only way to know is to look at the dates.
D, S and the dates worth a second look
The mint mark sits on the front, right under the date. No letter means Philadelphia, a D means Denver and an S means San Francisco. With the Mint on West Colfax Avenue striking coins since 1906, Denver-area jars tend to hold plenty of D cents.
The early wheat years are where most of the better coins hide, especially D and S cents from the 1910s and 1920s. Fewer of those were saved in nice condition, and collectors chase them to complete sets. The 1909-S is one date that collectors watch for. We do not price these by reputation. We check the date, mint mark and grade of each one in front of you.
The 1943 steel cent is easy to spot because it is gray and sticks to a magnet. Most are common, though a bright, unrusted example in high grade draws interest. A 1943 cent that looks like copper and does not stick to a magnet should be set aside without cleaning, since altered and plated coins are far more common than real ones.
Real mint errors show up in cent jars too, from doubled dies to off-center strikes and clipped planchets. Most coins that look odd turn out to be damage or wear, so keep any suspect pieces separate and let us check them in hand.
Indian Head cents dated 1909 are worth a careful look as well, since that was the last year of the design and the first year of the wheat cent. Keep both types from that year together for us to check.
Color grades: red, red-brown and brown
Copper changes color as it ages. A fresh cent leaves the Mint bright orange-red, and over the years it darkens toward brown. Collectors label that change with three color grades: red (RD) for coins that keep most of their original color, red-brown (RB) for coins partway there, and brown (BN) for coins that have fully toned.
Color matters most for uncirculated coins. Two unworn cents of the same date can be far apart in value because one kept its red and the other turned brown. Original color cannot be put back once it is gone, and collectors can tell when someone has tried.
That is why cleaning hurts old cents more than most coins. Scrubbing, polishing or dipping strips the surface, leaves an unnatural shine and lowers the grade. Even a coin that looks dirty is usually worth more left alone.
Storage leaves marks too. Cents kept in old paper envelopes or PVC flips can pick up spots or a green film over the years. Leave them in place and let us judge how much it matters.
Steel cents follow their own rules. They never had copper color to lose, and most have dulled or rusted over the decades, so a clean 1943 cent with bright, even surfaces stands out in a pile.
How to sort a coffee can of wheat cents
A coffee can of old pennies is one of the most common things families find, and sorting it takes an evening, not a week. Work over a towel and follow this order:
You do not need a price guide to do this. The goal is only to group the coins so the scarce ones are not lost among the common ones.
- Pull out anything that is not a wheat cent: Indian Heads, Memorial cents, foreign coins and tokens
- Put Indian Head cents in their own pile and leave them as they are
- Set aside every 1943 steel cent, and keep any 1943 cent that does not stick to a magnet separate from the rest
- Sort the wheat cents by decade, 1909 to 1919, then the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s
- Within each decade, split them into no mark, D and S
- Move any coin with bright red color or sharp detail into a small pile of its own
- Keep coins with odd shapes, doubling or missing metal separate as possible errors
- Write down rough counts for each pile
Selling old pennies by the lot or one at a time
Once the can is sorted, the sale gets simpler. Common wheat cents sell together. The coins you pulled into small piles, along with the Indian Heads and the early D and S dates, get looked at one by one. Albums and folders should stay whole, since a partly filled album shows a buyer exactly what is there.
There is no need to buy holders or albums before selling. If the coins came in a can, bring them in the can, with your sorted piles in zip bags or envelopes labeled by decade and mint. That keeps your work intact and lets us confirm your sorting quickly.
At our appointment, we check each standout coin's date, mint mark, grade and color in front of you, and the written offer lists them individually with the common cents priced as a group. You can sell all of it, sell only the bulk cents, or keep everything and take the list home. Phone 303-401-0104 and we will find a time that works for you.
Selling is never required. Some families keep the albums for grandchildren and sell only the bulk wheat cents, and the written list makes that split easy.
Wheat cents and Denver pocket change
Pennies are one thing nearly every Denver household saved. A grandparent's coffee can in a Wheat Ridge basement, a jar on a dresser in Olde Town Arvada, or a pickle jar of cents in a Commerce City garage can hold coins that passed through the city's stores and streetcars for decades. Because Denver has struck coins on West Colfax Avenue since 1906, those jars usually lean heavily toward D cents. Jars from Lakewood and Littleton homes look much the same.
With the U.S. Mint having struck its last circulating cents in 2025, more families are pulling out old jars and wondering what is in them. Most of what they find is common, and that is fine. The work is in finding the handful of Indian Heads, early D and S dates and bright red coins mixed in with the rest, before the whole jar gets rolled and cashed in at face value. Rolling a jar for the bank is the one choice that cannot be undone, so sort first.
We meet sellers by private appointment across the Denver metro, from Thornton and Broomfield to Englewood and Castle Rock, plus Boulder. Bring your sorted piles or the whole unsorted can. We check the coins in front of you and give you a written, item-by-item offer, and you are free to sell or keep all of it. The number is 303-401-0104, and we get back to every caller the same business day. If the can is heavy, ask about a home visit when you call.