2012 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 2012 the U.S. Mint struck about 6.02 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 3.13 billion, Denver 2.88 billion. That is 22% more than 2011. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 2012 ranks number 47 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is a mid-range date for availability. The scarcest 2012 issue by mintage is Denver (2,883,200,000); the most common is Philadelphia (3,132,000,000). Within the 2010s, 2012 ranks 8 of 10 years for mintage; the decade's high was 2016 (9.12 billion) and its low was 2010 (4.37 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 30% from 2011; Denver rose 14% from 2011. Proof cents for collectors: 1,237,415 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 2012 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 2012 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.
• From 2010 the reverse shows the Union Shield. Circulation coins are copper-plated zinc; the only way to get a different alloy is a collector set, so a 2010-or-later cent that weighs about 3.1 g is worth a second look but is almost always a plated or altered piece.
• 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 2012 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

The 2012 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 2012-D Shield (RD): $5 in MS63 up to $10,000 in grade 69.
• 2012 Shield (RD): $8 in MS65 up to $125 in MS68.

Denver is the lowest-mintage 2012 issue (2,883,200,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 2012 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.