1979 Penny (Lincoln Cent): Mintage & What to Check

In 1979 the U.S. Mint struck about 10.16 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 3.56 billion, West Point 1.71 billion, Denver 4.14 billion, San Francisco 751.7 million, San Francisco 3.7 million. That is 3% more than 1978. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1979 ranks number 18 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1979 issue by mintage is San Francisco (3,677,175); the most common is Denver (4,139,357,254). Within the 1970s, 1979 ranks 1 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 5% from 1978; West Point rose 11% from 1978; Denver fell 3% from 1978; San Francisco rose 158% from 1978; San Francisco fell 99% from 1978.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1979 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 1979 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 1979 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 1979 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 1979 issue), and the grade (an uncirculated coin with original red colour is a different market from a worn brown one). A normal, circulated 1979 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.