1998 Penny (Lincoln Cent): Mintage & What to Check

In 1998 the U.S. Mint struck about 10.26 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 5.03 billion, Denver 5.23 billion, San Francisco 2.1 million. That is 11% 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 San Francisco (2,086,507); 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 (13.64 billion) and its low was 1992 (9.10 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 9% from 1997; Denver rose 14% from 1997; San Francisco fell 25% from 1997.

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) and S (San Francisco).

• 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.
• For any 1998 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 1998 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 1998 issue), and the grade (an uncirculated coin with original red colour is a different market from a worn brown one). A normal, circulated 1998 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.