1963 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1963 the U.S. Mint struck about 2.53 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 754.1 million, Denver 1.77 billion. That is 5% more than 1962. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1963 ranks number 59 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is a mid-range date for availability. The scarcest 1963 issue by mintage is Philadelphia (754,110,000); the most common is Denver (1,774,020,400). Within the 1960s, 1963 ranks 5 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 24% from 1962; Denver fell 1% from 1962. Proof cents for collectors: 3,075,645 from Philadelphia.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1963 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1963 circulation cents are D (Denver). Proof cents for 1963 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.
• Rule out cleaning (unnatural brightness, fine parallel scratches) and flat machine doubling before you call anything a variety; see how to read dates and mint marks.

PCGS Price Guide values for 1963 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1963: $6 in MS63 RD and $18 in MS65 RD.
• 1963-D: $3 in MS63 RD and $20 in MS65 RD.

Philadelphia is the lowest-mintage 1963 issue (754,110,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1963 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.