1999 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 1999 the U.S. Mint struck about 11.60 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 5.24 billion, Denver 6.36 billion. That is 13% more than 1998. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 1999 ranks number 13 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 1999 issue by mintage is Philadelphia (5,237,600,000); the most common is Denver (6,360,065,000). Within the 1990s, 1999 ranks 6 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 4% from 1998; Denver rose 22% from 1998. Proof cents for collectors: 3,347,966 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 1999 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 1999 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.
• Rule out cleaning (unnatural brightness, fine parallel scratches) and flat machine doubling before you call anything a variety; see how to read dates and mint marks.

PCGS Price Guide values for 1999 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

• 1999: $7 in MS63 RD and $15 in MS65 RD.
• 1999-D: $6 in MS63 RD and $8 in MS65 RD.

Philadelphia is the lowest-mintage 1999 issue (5,237,600,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 1999 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.