Small Cents
Flying Eagle, Indian Head
and Lincoln Cent Guide

Value Overview by Series

U.S. small cents range from face value for modern Lincoln cents to a record $312,000 for the finest known 1856 Flying Eagle. Values below are broad approximate ranges for common-date circulated examples within each series, with key dates noted separately.

The small cent is the most widely collected denomination in American numismatics, and that popularity cuts both ways for value. Because billions of Lincoln cents were struck, most dates from the 1930s onward trade for little more than face value in circulated condition — but the handful of genuine key dates and famous errors attract so many buyers that they command premiums far out of proportion to their face value. For grade-by-grade figures across every U.S. denomination, see our complete coin price guide, and if you're holding a specific cent you want to identify, our What's My Coin Worth guide walks through the process step by step.

Condition, color, and certification drive value more than date alone for most small cents. Uncirculated copper cents are graded not just on wear but on color — Red (RD), Red-Brown (RB), or Brown (BN) — and a full Red example can be worth several times a Brown one in the same numerical grade. Collectors working through the Lincoln Wheat series date by date will find the full year-and-mint breakdown on our wheat penny value chart.

Every Small Cent Series

The Small Cent denomination spans three major design families — Flying Eagle, Indian Head, and Lincoln — across nearly 170 years, remarkable durability for a coin that started as an uncertain experiment. The Flying Eagle lasted barely two years in circulation, the Indian Head ran for exactly half a century, and the Lincoln cent has now been struck for more than 115 years under four different reverse designs.

The cards below cover each small cent design family, the series' two biggest collector draws — the 1909-S VDB key date and the error cents that turn up in pocket change — and the two copper denominations that came before them, the Large Cent and Half Cent, both retired in 1857 when the small cent took over. Click any card to open the full guide or shop current listings.

Half Cents

America's smallest-ever denomination, 1793–1857.

Large Cents

The Small Cent's larger predecessor, 1793–1857.

Flying Eagle Cent

1856–1858 — the first small cent and its famous pattern rarity.

Indian Head Cent

1859–1909 — a 50-year run designed by James B. Longacre.

Lincoln Wheat Cent

1909–1958 — full year-and-mint value chart.

Lincoln Memorial Cent

1959–2008 — the reverse most collectors grew up with.

Penny Error Coins

1943 bronze, 1955 doubled die, and more.

1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent

The legendary key date — just 484,000 struck.

1942-S LINCOLN CENT - NGC MS-66 RD, SAN FRANCISCO WHEAT CENT!

45.00 USD

3 Coins: 1942/43/44-D 1C RD Lincoln Wheat Penny PCGS & NGC MS65 Gem Uncirculated

117.00 USD

1936 D WHEAT CENT NGC MS-66 RB - UNCIRCULATED - WHEAT PENNY - CERTIFIED - 1C

33.00 USD

1913 1C Lincoln Cent Wheat Reverse NGC PF65RB Brick Holder

1552.99 USD

1931-D NGC MS66RB $1,500 PCGS-PG 8th Lowest Mintage Lincoln Cent OLD SLAB Key 1C

898.00 USD

1919 1C NGC MS63 RD Lincoln Wheat Cent Red Uncirculated FREE Shipping #JM-B

124.99 USD

1957-D Lincoln Wheat Cent NGC MS67 Rich Lustrous Copper Red PCGS List $400.00

292.50 USD

1936 D WHEAT CENT NGC MS-66 RB - UNCIRCULATED - WHEAT PENNY - CERTIFIED - 1C

33.00 USD

1954-D Lincoln Wheat Cent NGC MS67 Rich Lustrous Copper Red PCGS List $500.00

405.00 USD

Where to Buy Small Cents

eBay and Amazon cover nearly everything a small cent collector needs, from certified key dates to albums and reference books. Because Flying Eagle, Indian Head, and Lincoln cents contain no precious metal, bullion dealers generally don't stock them — the real market for these coins runs through auction marketplaces, coin shops, and collector-to-collector sales.

Whatever the source, stick to PCGS- or NGC-certified coins for anything valued above a few hundred dollars. The 1856 Flying Eagle, 1877 Indian Head, 1909-S VDB, and 1943 bronze cent are all heavily counterfeited, and certification is the only reliable protection at those price levels.

The largest marketplace for small cents of every era, from common Wheat cents to certified Flying Eagle and Indian Head key dates. Check sold listings to confirm current market values before any significant purchase.

Browse on eBay →

Coin albums, folders, capsules, and reference books for building and protecting a small cent set — including Whitman Lincoln cent folders and the Red Book for date-by-date values.

Shop on Amazon →

The History of the Small Cent

The small cent replaced the large copper cent in 1857 and circulated for 168 years until the U.S. Mint struck its final circulating cent on November 12, 2025. By the mid-1850s, the large-format copper cent that had circulated since 1793 had become genuinely impractical — its size and weight made it expensive to produce and unwieldy to carry in quantity. In 1857, the Mint permanently retired the Large Cent (along with the Half Cent) in favor of a smaller, lighter coin struck in a harder 88% copper / 12% nickel alloy. The transition actually began a year early, in late 1856, when the Mint struck a small pattern run of the new Flying Eagle design — technically not an official circulation issue, but distributed to newspaper editors, congressmen, and other influential figures to build public support for the change. That 1856 pattern proved so popular with collectors that it's universally treated as part of the regular series today, despite its technical status.

The Flying Eagle design, adapted by Chief Engraver James B. Longacre from Christian Gobrecht's earlier Flying Eagle motif used on the 1836–1839 silver dollar, proved a genuine engineering headache: its high-relief eagle and wreath sat in directly opposing positions on the coin, meaning metal had to flow into both deep recesses simultaneously during striking, leaving the eagle's head and tail almost always weakly struck. The Mint abandoned the design after just two years of full circulation production (1857–1858), replacing it in 1859 with Longacre's own lower-relief Indian Head design — which proved far easier to strike and remained in production for exactly 50 years. In 1864, the hard copper-nickel alloy gave way to a thinner bronze composition that was cheaper to produce and easier on the dies, and bronze would remain the cent's standard metal for most of the next century.

The Lincoln cent arrived in 1909 and carried the denomination through its most dramatic stretch. In 1943, the Mint switched to zinc-coated steel to save copper for the war effort, but a small number of leftover bronze planchets were struck with 1943 dies anyway — PCGS estimates fewer than 20 exist from Philadelphia and San Francisco combined, and the unique 1943-D bronze cent sold privately for $1.7 million in 2010, the record for any cent (see our penny error coins guide for the 1943 bronze and other valuable cent errors). The wheat-ear reverse gave way to Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial design in 1959 for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, followed by four bicentennial reverses in 2009 and the Union Shield in 2010. Rising metal costs pushed the Mint to switch from bronze to copper-plated zinc partway through 1982.

By 2024, each cent cost roughly 3.7 cents to make, and after the Treasury stopped buying new planchets in 2025, the Mint held a ceremonial final strike in Philadelphia on November 12, 2025, ending 232 years of circulating cent production. The cent remains legal tender, with an estimated 300 billion still in circulation, and the Mint continues to strike limited numismatic versions for proof and mint sets — so while pocket-change production is over, the small cent's story as a collectible is far from finished.

Find These Coins on eBayMoney Back Guarantee

Frequently Asked Questions