1979 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

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. 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 (751,725,000); 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. Proof cents for collectors: 3,677,175 from San Francisco.

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). 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 1979 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1979: $8 in MS63 RD and $18 in MS65 RD.
• 1979-D: $7 in MS63 RD and $28 in MS65 RD.

San Francisco is the lowest-mintage 1979 issue (751,725,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1979 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.