1995 Penny (Lincoln Cent): Mintage & What to Check

In 1995 the U.S. Mint struck about 13.54 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 6.41 billion, Denver 7.13 billion, San Francisco 2.8 million. That is 1% fewer than 1994. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1995 ranks number 6 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1995 issue by mintage is San Francisco (2,797,481); the most common is Denver (7,128,560,000). Within the 1990s, 1995 ranks 2 of 10 years for mintage; the decade's high was 1994 (13.64 billion) and its low was 1992 (9.10 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia fell 1% from 1994; Denver held steady from 1994; San Francisco fell 14% from 1994.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1995 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1995 circulation cents are D (Denver) and S (San Francisco).

• 1995 doubled-die obverse. The first major new doubled-die Lincoln cent discovered in over a decade (spring 1995), with doubling visible to the naked eye on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST; the Denver version is roughly 170 times scarcer than the Philadelphia version.
• The 1995 doubled die obverse shows doubling on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It is the most available modern doubled die, so many exist, but it is still worth pulling from change.
• Cents from 1983 onward are copper-plated zinc (about 2.5 g). The plating is thin, so these coins corrode easily: bubbles, pitting or grey spots on a bright coin are damage, not a variety.
• For any 1995 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 1995 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 1995 issue), and the grade (an uncirculated coin with original red colour is a different market from a worn brown one). A normal, circulated 1995 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.