1961 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1961 the U.S. Mint struck about 2.51 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 753.3 million, Denver 1.75 billion. That is 16% more than 1960. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1961 ranks number 60 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is a mid-range date for availability. The scarcest 1961 issue by mintage is Philadelphia (753,345,000); the most common is Denver (1,753,266,700). Within the 1960s, 1961 ranks 6 of 10 years for mintage; the decade's high was 1964 (6.45 billion) and its low was 1965 (1.50 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 28% from 1960; Denver rose 11% from 1960. Proof cents for collectors: 3,028,244 from Philadelphia.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1961 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1961 circulation cents are D (Denver). Proof cents for 1961 were struck at Philadelphia with no mint mark; they have mirror-like fields and came from collector sets, not from circulation.

• Cents from this era are 95% copper and weigh 3.11 g. A coin with this date that weighs about 2.5 g is a plated or altered piece, not a transitional error (zinc cents only begin in 1982). Small raised blobs or lines between letters, especially between the B and E of LIBERTY, are die breaks (collectors call them BIE cents); they are common and carry little premium.
• True die doubling is rounded and separated; flat, shelf-like doubling is machine doubling and adds nothing. The mint marks guide has side-by-side examples.

PCGS Price Guide values for 1961 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1961: $8 in MS63 RD and $18 in MS65 RD.
• 1961-D: $6 in MS63 RD and $15 in MS65 RD.

Philadelphia is the lowest-mintage 1961 issue (753,345,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1961 cent usually sells for less than the lowest figure above, often little more than face value. RD means full original red copper, RB red-brown, BN brown; the color grade can multiply the price. How grade and variety turn into a number is explained in what makes a coin valuable.

Value ranges below come from Coins-Value (page dated October 2025) and CoinValueChecker; neither is a PCGS listing, so treat them as dealer estimates.

• 1961-D over horizontal D (FS-501): an earlier D was punched lying on its side and then corrected, and its outline shows inside and to the left of the final D. Coins-Value gives $15 to $25 in VF–XF brown, $100 to $140 in MS64 red and $350 to $500+ in MS66 red.
• Doubled eyelid (1961-D, WDDO-007): a second ridge under Lincoln's upper eyelid; $10 to $25 in MS63–65 red.
• Off-center strikes: $15 to $75 with the date visible (Coins-Value); $75 to $150 for 40–50% off-center (CoinValueChecker).
• Clipped planchets: $2 to $5 for minor, circulated clips; $20 to $50 for major clips in MS60 or better.
• Wrong planchet (struck on a dime blank): $1,000 and up; CoinValueChecker lists documented sales of $1,035 to $1,265.

Not errors: small raised lines between the B and E of LIBERTY (die cracks), flat machine doubling, and the L of LIBERTY touching the rim on 1961-D coins, which Coins-Value notes appears on thousands of coins.

Top sales reported by CoinValueChecker:

• 1961, MS67 RD: $5,720 in May 2013. More recent MS67 RD sales were $720 (April 2023) and $450 (January 2023), close to the PCGS Price Guide figure of $750 (September 24, 2026). Old record prices are not today's prices.
• 1961-D, MS67 RD: $4,406 in June 2014. PCGS now lists $650.
• 1961 proof, PR65 RD: $1,265 in October 2006.
• 1961 proof, deep cameo, PR69: $6,600 in June 2023; CoinValueChecker counts about 16 such coins across grading services.

Proofs have mirror-like fields and came from collector sets; 3,028,244 were made.

From the PCGS Price Guide, September 24, 2026:

• 1969-S Doubled Die Obverse: $28,500 in MS60 BN to $605,000 in MS66 RD. The most valuable cent of the decade; see 1969.
• 1960-D/D Small over Large Date: $36 in MS60 BN to $675 in MS66 RD.
• 1960 Small Date: $27 in MS65 RD and $525 in MS67 RD, against $14 and $375 for the Large Date. See 1960.
• Ordinary dates in MS67 RD: from $160 (1968-S) to $10,000 (1963-D); the 1961 is $750 and the 1961-D $650.

In circulated condition, ordinary 1960s cents are worth their copper, about 4.4 cents each (USA CoinBook, September 25, 2026).