1945 Wheat Penny Value And How Much This Lincoln Cent Is Worth?

The Lincoln wheat penny dated 1945 isn’t worth that much compared to other rare US pennies due to the amount of coins that were produced that year.

On average the 1945 Lincoln Wheat penny from the Philadelphia mint is worth $0.02 in grade G4 condition. The 1945-D variety from the Denver mint is worth $0.02 in grade G4 condition and the 1945-S variety from the San Francisco mint is worth $0.05 in grade G4 condition.

Apart from its face value of 1 cent, it has a melt value of about $0.0185 due to the amount of copper it’s made from.

This is also what gives it the red or red brown color.

Although, because they are no longer made, they will continue to appreciate in numismatic value and uncirculated coins in mint state will be worth the most.

If you’re lucky enough, you might be able to find one that has some sort of lamination error on it or double die errors from the minting process, but the odds are pretty slim.

Error coins have a higher value on the rarity scale and sell at a premium compared to other coins in the wheat penny series.

For example, have you seen any Lincoln pennies with the obverse upside down relative to the reverse? This is a common error that would certainly increase their value.

How Much Have 1945 Wheat Pennies Sold For In The Past?

An uncirculated mint condition 1945 Penny produced in Philadelphia (no mint mark) sold at auction for around $4400.

Quite a good price for a coin that isn't in extremely fine state. You can also find this Lincoln penny selling on eBay with free shipping for up to $200.

The 1945 penny with no mint mark isn't worth any more or less than a version with a mint mark. The Lincoln penny value is determined by the grading.

The Denver circulated coins with the D mint mark are priced on eBay for around $26, however a superb specimen has previously changed hands for around $14,000.

The uncirculated coin that was purchased for such a handsome purse was certified Mint State 68 Red by the PCGS making it one of the most valuable coins from this year.

The San Francisco circulated coins are also listed on eBay for around $26, some of which are only in average condition.

Most experienced collectors would prefer coins in extremely fine condition or uncirculated condition. Even better if they can find rare errors with eye appeal.

Can you spot the mistake on the 1945 S and D Wheat Penny shown in the Video?

What Were 1945 Pennies Made Of?

The 1945 Wheat Penny was created by the designer and engraver Victor D Brenner and is made from 95% Copper and 5% Zinc (No Tin). It weighs 3.11 grams and is 19mm in diameter.

Usually Lincoln cents are made up of a composition of both Tin and Zinc although between 1944 and 1946, the coins were supposedly made with metals melted down from World War II shell casings.

Due to this variation in the metal during this period, you may know the 1945 Lincoln Wheat Pennies as ‘Shell Case Cents’.

Heads Or Tails?

On the obverse side of the coin is a profile portrait of Abraham Lincoln pointing to the right. To the left of this President’s image is the word ‘LIBERTY’. To the right of the image is the date 1945 with the mint mark location underneath. Above the portrait in arched writing it reads, ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’.

On the reverse side of the coin, centered in large writing is written ‘ONE CENT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’. On each side of this writing there is an ear of wheat, leading to the coin being named ‘Wheat Reverse Penny’. At the top of the this side, above the two wheat ears, is written ‘E PLURIBUS UNUM’. This Latin phrase translates as ‘Out of many, one’ or ‘One from many’.

Where Is The Mint Mark On 1945 Lincoln Pennies?

Out of the three variations, the 1945 S Wheat Penny minted in San Francisco is probably the most valuable at around $2-$6 in mint condition. The circulated value would be a lot less. Maybe $0.10-$0.20 or just face value.

This is because SF made fewer coins that year at around 181,770,000 making them more rare than other varieties.

You will notice that any wheat pennies minted in SF have a small ‘s’ under the date on the obverse or head side of the coin. You may need a magnifying glass to see it.

Likewise, any that were minted in Denver have a small ‘d’ under the date.

In 1945 there were around 1,488,553,000 wheat cents produced. 266,268,000 are D Wheat pennies made is Denver, while 1,040,515,000 were produced in Philadelphia and have no mint mark. Some people refer to these as 1945 P Wheat Pennies.

The remaining 181,700,000 as I mentioned previously were made in San Francisco and are known as S Wheat Pennies.

How Much Are 1945 Steel Pennies Worth?

If you have a 1945 Wheat penny made of steel, it is virtually worthless. That’s because it’s most likely a fake or has been tampered with in some way to make it silver looking.

You might get face value for it.

In 1945 all Lincoln cents were made from Bronze. They only produced steelies in 1943 and 1944 due to needing all the copper for the war effort, then reverted back to the traditional Bronze composite without the tin in 1945.

From 1946 onwards, the tin was added back into the Bronze composite.

More Lincoln Wheat Cents 1909 - 1958

1909, 1910, 1911, 1912,1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958.

Return to Lost Treasure HQ from 1945 Wheat Penny


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