2016 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 2016 the U.S. Mint struck about 9.12 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 4.70 billion, Denver 4.42 billion. That is 3% more than 2015. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 2016 ranks number 24 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is one of the most common dates in the series. The scarcest 2016 issue by mintage is Denver (4,420,400,000); the most common is Philadelphia (4,698,400,000). Within the 2010s, 2016 ranks 1 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 5% from 2015; Denver held steady from 2015. Proof cents for collectors: 965,033 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 2016 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 2016 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.
• 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 2016 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

The 2016 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 2016 Shield (RD): $8 in MS63 up to $2,500 in MS68.
• 2016-D Shield (RD): $3 in MS64 up to $875 in MS68.

Denver is the lowest-mintage 2016 issue (4,420,400,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 2016 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.