1998 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1998 the U.S. Mint struck about 10.26 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 5.03 billion, Denver 5.23 billion. That is 12% more than 1997. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1998 ranks number 17 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1998 issue by mintage is Philadelphia (5,032,200,000); the most common is Denver (5,225,200,000). Within the 1990s, 1998 ranks 7 of 10 years for mintage; the decade's high was 1994 (13.63 billion) and its low was 1992 (9.10 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 9% from 1997; Denver rose 14% from 1997. Proof cents for collectors: 2,086,507 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1998 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1998 circulation cents are D (Denver). Proof cents carry an S and have mirror-like fields; they came from collector sets, not from circulation.

• 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.
• 1998, 1999 and 2000 Philadelphia cents exist with a Wide AM reverse, where the proof-style reverse die was used on circulation coins: A and M in AMERICA are clearly separated and FG sits close to the Memorial. The 1999 Wide AM is the scarcest of the three.
• Before anything else, confirm the date and mint mark are fully readable and that the surfaces have not been cleaned; the dates and mint marks guide shows what cleaning and machine doubling look like.

PCGS Price Guide values for 1998 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1998: $6 in MS63 RD and $10 in MS65 RD.
• 1998-D: $3 in MS63 RD and $12 in MS65 RD.

The 1998 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 1998 Wide AM (RD): $15 in MS60 up to $6,000 in MS68.
• 1998 Wide AM, FS-901 (RD): $35 in MS63 up to $825 in MS67.

Philadelphia is the lowest-mintage 1998 issue (5,032,200,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1998 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.