Wheat Penny Overview
The wheat penny, the first series of the Lincoln cent, is a beloved coin among collectors and is a staple of many beginning collections.
First minted in 1909, the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the wheat penny was the brainchild of President Theodore Roosevelt, who conceived of the coin as a way to pay homage to the Great Emancipator.
Preceded by the Indian Head penny, the wheat penny was the first cent piece to feature the likeness of a real person, and the first U.S. coin to do so outside of the special commemorative Columbian half dollar. Previous coin imagery was comprised mostly of animals or the symbolic Liberty figure.
The design for the wheat penny was created by the Lithuanian medalist Victor David Brenner. The obverse of the coin features the iconic profile bust portrait of Lincoln, with the word “LIBERTY” to his left and the year of mintage to his right. Along the upper rim is the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST.”
Boldly centered on the reverse face is the denomination “ONE CENT.” Below the denomination is the legend “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” all surrounded by two stalks of wheat. At the top of the reverse is the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
The wheat penny was minted until 1958, the year that President Eisenhower commissioned the design of the Lincoln Memorial penny.
History of the 1918 Wheat Penny
1918 saw the ninth mintage of the wheat penny. Although this year did not produce any significant varieties, 1918 was an important issue for the design of the wheat penny.
The original reverse design that was struck in 1909 featured Brenner’s initials at the bottom rim of the coin. This design choice was quite controversial, with many claiming that the initials were too prominent.
The initials were entirely removed from the coin dies before the end of the year, and they did not reappear until 1918, when the Mint restored the initials–this time in a much more subtle location.
All wheat pennies struck from 1918 onwards feature the initials “VDB” on the “lip” of Lincoln’s shoulder, just above the rim. Unfortunately, the initials tend to become invisible very easily with wear.
While this fact does not bring any added value to the 1918 issue, it is nevertheless an interesting detail for any collector of this series.
The mintage numbers for this coin were extremely high for the time period, with over 350 million coins struck in 1918. The majority were struck at the Philadelphia Mint, which reports minting 288,104,634 pennies in 1918. 47,830,000 pennies were struck at Denver, and 34,680,000 were struck at San Francisco.
Compositionally, the 1918 wheat penny is standard for the series (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc), with the exception of those produced during America’s involvement in World War II, when various metallic compositions were used to conserve copper.
The diameter of 19mm and the weight of 3.11g are also standard for the series.
Valuing the 1918 Wheat Penny
Because so many wheat pennies were minted in 1918, they are still fairly common today, and their value reflects this fact. That said, even lower grades are worth more to collectors than their face value, and high grades can be worth quite a bit.
The value of a 1918 wheat penny is determined by its condition and mint mark. The mint mark, if one is present, is below the year on the obverse face. No mint mark indicates that the coin was struck in Philadelphia; a “D” means Denver, and an “S” means San Francisco.
For coins struck in Philadelphia, grades of Good 4 to Fine 12 are worth between $0.20 and $0.50. Very Fine 20 to Extremely Fine 40 grades are worth from $1.50 to $3.00. This increases to $8.25 in About Uncirculated 40, $16 in Uncirculated (MS-60), and $28 in Uncirculated (MS-63).
Denver and San Francisco issues are more valuable due to their scarcity, and because of overused dies in these two locations, high grades with quality strikes are very rare.
For San Francisco mintages, Good 4 and Very Good 8 grade coins are worth $0.50 and $1.02, respectively, while Fine 12 and Very Fine 20 grades are worth between $2.00 and $3.00.
The value increases steeply to $11 in Extremely Fine 40, $32 in About Uncirculated 50, $83 in Uncirculated (MS-60), and $186 in Uncirculated (MS-63).
Denver mintages’ values are comparable to those of San Francisco coins in higher grades. However, Denver mintages are the most valuable in lower grades.
Good 4 grade Denver mintages bring a value of $0.76, a difference of $0.56 compared to Philadelphia issues of the same condition. Very Good 8 grades are worth $1.29; Fine 12 grades, $2.54; Very Fine 20, $4.08.
Denver and San Francisco mintages in extremely high grades (MS-65 and up) may be worth in the thousands, so consider having your coin professionally graded if you think you may have such a piece.