1982 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1982 the U.S. Mint struck about 16.73 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 10.71 billion, Denver 6.01 billion. That is 30% more than 1981. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1982 ranks number 1 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1982 issue by mintage is Denver (6,012,979,368); the most common is Philadelphia (10,712,525,000). Within the 1980s, 1982 ranks 1 of 10 years for mintage; the decade's high was 1982 (16.73 billion) and its low was 1986 (8.93 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 43% from 1981; Denver rose 12% from 1981. Proof cents for collectors: 3,857,479 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1982 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1982 circulation cents are D (Denver). Proof cents carry an S and have mirror-like fields; they came from collector sets, not from circulation.

• 1982 Large Date / Small Date, bronze and copper-plated-zinc varieties. 1982 is the mid-year transition from 95%-copper bronze (3.11 g) to copper-plated zinc (2.5 g); combined with the Large Date/Small Date hub change, up to seven distinct P/D varieties exist from this single year, none separately tallied in official mintage figures.
• 1982 is the transition year: the Mint switched from 95% copper (3.11 g) to copper-plated zinc (2.5 g) mid-year, and both large-date and small-date obverses were used, giving seven regular combinations. Weigh the coin on a scale that reads to 0.01 g. The 1982-D small date on a copper planchet is the rarity; only a few are known.
• 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.
• 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 1982 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1982: $6 in MS63 RD and $10 in MS65 RD.
• 1982-D: $5 in MS63 RD and $15 in MS65 RD.

The 1982 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 1982 Zinc, Small Date (RD): $3 in MS63 up to $15,000 in grade 69.
• 1982-D Zinc, Large Date (RD): $6 in MS63 up to $15,000 in grade 69.
• 1982 Zinc, Large Date (RD): $6 in MS63 up to $5,250 in grade 69.
• 1982 Bronze, Small Date (RD): $6 in MS63 up to $4,350 in MS68.

Denver is the lowest-mintage 1982 issue (6,012,979,368 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1982 cent usually sells for less than the lowest figure above, and most circulated zinc cents are worth 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.

Look at the 8 and the 2 in the date (JM Bullion, CoinValueChecker):

• The 8: on a small date the upper loop is visibly smaller than the lower loop; on a large date the two loops are nearly equal.
• The 2: on a small date the 2 curves down to a flat foot; on a large date it has a nearly straight diagonal stroke.
• Alignment: on a small date the tops and bottoms of the 1, 8 and 2 line up evenly.

Then weigh the coin: 3.11 g is copper (bronze), 2.5 g is copper-plated zinc. You need both answers, date size and metal, to know which of the 1982 cents you have.

The Mint made seven regular varieties of 1982 cent at Philadelphia, Denver and West Point (JM Bullion). Matching the PCGS Price Guide listings:

• No mint mark: copper large date, copper small date, zinc large date, zinc small date.
• D (Denver): copper large date, zinc large date, zinc small date.

The missing combination, a 1982-D small date on a copper planchet, is the eighth: a transitional error, not an intended issue (CoinValueChecker).

PCGS Price Guide, updated September 24, 2026, certified coins, full red (RD) unless noted:

• 1982 zinc small date: $3 in MS63, $10 in MS65, $60 in MS67, $525 in MS68, $15,000 in MS69.
• 1982 copper small date: $6 in MS63, $36 in MS65, $215 in MS67, $4,350 in MS68. Brown examples list $5 to $10.
• 1982-D zinc small date: $8 in MS63, $18 in MS65, $48 in MS67, $425 in MS68.
• 1982 zinc small date with doubled die reverse (FS-1801): $500 in MS63 RB.

A circulated 1982 small date is worth face value if zinc and about 4.4 cents in copper if bronze. The big numbers belong to nearly perfect coins. CoinValueChecker reports a 1982 zinc small date in MS69 RD that sold for $15,600 at Stack's Bowers in August 2019, and a copper small date that brought $9,988 in February 2014.

• First coin: found in Minnesota in 2016 by collector Paul Malone, graded AU58 by NGC, sold at Stack's Bowers in August 2017 for $18,800 (Numismatic News).
• Second coin: reported on May 2, 2019, graded AU58 by PCGS, weighing 3.07 g on its label (Numismatic News). JM Bullion reports it sold for $10,800.

To be one, a coin must have all four: the 1982 date, the small date style, a D mint mark and a copper weight of about 3.1 g (JM Bullion). A 1982-D small date that weighs 2.5 g is the ordinary zinc coin. Weigh on a scale that reads to 0.01 g; kitchen scales that round to 0.1 g can still separate 3.1 from 2.5.