1976 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1976 the U.S. Mint struck about 8.90 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 3.13 billion, West Point 1.54 billion, Denver 4.22 billion. That is 11% fewer than 1975. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1976 ranks number 27 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1976 issue by mintage is West Point (1,540,695,000); the most common is Denver (4,221,592,455). Within the 1970s, 1976 ranks 4 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 fell 19% from 1975; West Point fell 2% from 1975; Denver fell 6% from 1975. Proof cents for collectors: 4,149,730 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1976 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia or West Point (the two cannot be told apart) and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1976 circulation cents are D (Denver). Proof cents carry an S and have mirror-like fields; they came from collector sets, not from circulation.

• Between 1974 and 1986 the West Point facility also struck cents, without any mint mark. A cent from these years with no mint mark can therefore be from Philadelphia or West Point; the two cannot be told apart, and neither is scarce.
• 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 1976 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1976: $3 in MS63 RD and $14 in MS65 RD.
• 1976-D: $10 in MS63 RD and $26 in MS65 RD.

West Point made the fewest 1976 circulation cents (1,540,695,000), but they carry no mint mark and cannot be told apart from Philadelphia coins, so they bring no premium. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1976 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.