1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 811,100,000 made
- Mintage
- 811,100,000
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% zinc
- Weight
- 3.11 g
- Diameter
- 19.05 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent worth?
A worn 1966 is a spender: face value. A bright uncirculated one, or one with a known error, is worth setting aside.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent rare?
- Not in absolute terms: 811 million were made. It is one of the smaller runs in the series, though, so uncirculated examples are worth a little more than most dates.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent?
- On the obverse, below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark (except the 2017-P, which is a Lincoln Shield cent).
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1966 are scarcer?
- The 1965 at 301,470,000, the 1962 at 606,045,000, the 1961 at 753,345,000, plus 1 more. So the 1966 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent coins were made?
- 811,100,000. Another 1,374,786,200 were struck at branch mints without a mint mark and look identical.
What to check on your 1966
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- There is no mint mark to look for. The Mint omitted mint marks from 1965 to 1967, so coins struck at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco look identical.
- Proof or circulation strike? A collector strike has a satin or special finish and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent SMS (2,261,583 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. Wear first shows on Lincoln's cheekbone and hair. Doubled-die varieties from 1969-S, 1972, 1983 (reverse), 1984 and 1995 are the big money coins, so always check the lettering under magnification.
With 811 million made, the 1966 still turns up in everyday change. Keep yours only if it looks uncirculated or shows a variety; otherwise it's worth face value.
The story of the 1966
Output at Philadelphia climbed to 811,100,000 in 1966, from 301 million the year before. The next year it made 908 million (1967).
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1966 you find is from Philadelphia.
Philadelphia struck the Lincoln Memorial Cent in 50 issues between 1959 and 2008. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1965 (301,470,000). Within the 1960s it's 8th smallest of 19, between the 1963 (754 million) and the 1967 (908 million).
No mint marks, special sets and famous doubled dies (1965 to 1973)
The Coinage Act of 1965 left the cent's bronze composition unchanged, but the Mint dropped mint marks from all coins from 1965 to 1967 to discourage hoarding. Collectors were offered Special Mint Sets with satin finish coins instead of proof sets. Mint marks returned in 1968. San Francisco resumed striking cents with an S for the first time since 1955.
Several doubled dies come from this period. The 1969-S doubled die obverse is rare and widely counterfeited. The 1971 and 1972 have doubled die obverses. The 1972 is one of the most dramatic, with strong doubling on the date and LIBERTY. The 1970-S has a scarce small date variety, also called the high 7. Copper prices were rising by 1973, which pushed the Treasury to look for a cheaper metal.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1966
Mint marks were still omitted on circulating coins and Special Mint Sets continued in place of proof sets.
How to recognize it
The obverse keeps Victor David Brenner's portrait of Lincoln with the date and mint mark on the right. The reverse, by Frank Gasparro, shows the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., with a tiny statue of Lincoln visible between the central columns. E PLURIBUS UNUM is above the building and ONE CENT below. Look for the FG initials to the right of the steps.
Mintage chart
This mintage counts Philadelphia only. 991,431,200 more were struck at the Denver Mint without a mint mark; 383,355,000 more were struck at the San Francisco Mint without a mint mark, so they cannot be told apart. That makes 2,185,886,200 in total.
Specifications
| Series | Lincoln Memorial Cent (1959–2008) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1966 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 811,100,000 (2,185,886,200 incl. unmarked branch-mint coins) |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% zinc (brass) |
| Weight | 3.11 grams |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Victor David Brenner (obverse); Frank Gasparro (reverse) |
Other 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent | 811,100,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1966 Lincoln Memorial Cent SMS | 2,261,583 | Special Mint Set | – |
Mintage: Lincoln cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.