2021 Penny Value: Price Chart by Grade & Mint Mark

In 2021 the U.S. Mint struck about 7.91 billion Lincoln cents for circulation: Philadelphia 3.93 billion, Denver 3.98 billion. That is 4% more than 2020. Among the 117 years from 1909 to 2025, 2021 ranks number 34 by total mintage (1 = most coins made), so it is a mid-range date for availability. The scarcest 2021 issue by mintage is Philadelphia (3,925,820,000); the most common is Denver (3,982,800,000). Within the 2020s, 2021 ranks 1 of 6 years for mintage; the decade's high was 2021 (7.91 billion) and its low was 2025 (1.30 billion). Mint by mint: Philadelphia rose 10% from 2020; Denver fell 1% from 2020. Proof cents for collectors: 816,662 from San Francisco.

The mint mark, if any, sits under the date on the front of the coin. A 2021 cent with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia and is the normal, common form for that mint. The letters you can find on 2021 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 2021 cents (updated September 24, 2026, U.S. dollars, for coins certified by PCGS):

The 2021 coins that bring real money are the varieties and errors:

• 2021-D Shield (RD): $5 in MS63 up to $2,750 in MS68.
• 2021 Shield (RD): $10 in MS65 up to $60 in MS67.

Philadelphia is the lowest-mintage 2021 issue (3,925,820,000 struck), so it is the mint collectors check first. Guide prices assume a certified coin; an uncertified, worn 2021 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.