1978 Penny (Lincoln Cent): Mintage & What to Check

In 1978 the U.S. Mint struck about 9.84 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 3.74 billion, West Point 1.53 billion, Denver 4.28 billion, San Francisco 291.7 million, San Francisco 3.1 million. That is 14% more than 1977. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1978 ranks number 20 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1978 issue by mintage is San Francisco (3,127,781); the most common is Denver (4,280,233,400). Within the 1970s, 1978 ranks 3 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 22% from 1977; West Point rose 10% from 1977; Denver rose 2% from 1977; San Francisco rose 8872% from 1977; San Francisco fell 4% from 1977.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1978 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia or West Point or San Francisco (the two cannot be told apart) and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1978 circulation cents are D (Denver) and S (San Francisco).

• 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.
• For any 1978 cent, check three things before anything else: that the date and mint mark are fully readable, that the surfaces have not been cleaned (unnatural brightness, fine parallel scratches), and whether any doubling on the lettering is true die doubling (rounded, separated) rather than flat machine doubling.

What a 1978 cent is worth depends on three things in this order: the variety (a recognised doubled die or transitional error is worth far more than a normal coin), the mint (San Francisco is the lowest-mintage 1978 issue), and the grade (an uncirculated coin with original red colour is a different market from a worn brown one). A normal, circulated 1978 cent from the most common mint is a very common coin; published price guides from grading services list values by grade and variety, and they change over time. This page does not give prices. To get a reference range for the exact coin in your hand, photograph both sides in even light and let the app read the date, mint mark and visible varieties first.