1971 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1971 the U.S. Mint struck about 5.36 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 1.92 billion, Denver 2.91 billion, San Francisco 525.1 million. That is 2% fewer than 1970. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1971 ranks number 52 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is a mid-range date for availability. The scarcest 1971 issue by mintage is San Francisco (525,133,459); the most common is Denver (2,911,045,600). Within the 1970s, 1971 ranks 10 of 10 years for mintage; the decade's high was 1979 (10.16 billion) and its low was 1971 (5.36 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 1% from 1970; Denver rose 1% from 1970; San Francisco fell 24% from 1970. Proof cents for collectors: 3,220,733 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1971 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1971 circulation cents are D (Denver) and S (San Francisco). Proof cents carry an S and have mirror-like fields; they 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.
• Before anything else, confirm the date and mint mark are fully readable and that the surfaces have not been cleaned; the dates and mint marks guide shows what cleaning and machine doubling look like.

PCGS Price Guide values for 1971 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1971: $11 in MS63 RD and $22 in MS65 RD.
• 1971-D: $6 in MS63 RD and $22 in MS65 RD.
• 1971-S: $10 in MS63 RD and $18 in MS65 RD.

The 1971 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 1971 Doubled Die Obverse (RD): $185 in MS60 up to $3,150 in MS66.
• 1971 FS-102 (030.7) (RB): $20 in MS60 up to $75 in MS65.

San Francisco is the lowest-mintage 1971 issue (525,133,459 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1971 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.