2025-D Lincoln Shield Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 645,200,000 made
- Mintage
- 645,200,000
- Metal
- 97.5% zinc core, 2.5% copper plating
- Weight
- 2.5 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 2025-D Lincoln Shield Cent worth?
A worn 2025-D 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
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 2025-D Lincoln Shield Cent rare?
- Yes. Only 645,200,000 were made, the lowest of any regular Lincoln Shield Cent.
- Where is the mint mark on a 2025 Lincoln Shield Cent?
- On the obverse, below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark, except the 2017-P (struck for the Mint's 225th anniversary). On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 2025 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Denver issue had a smaller mintage than the 2025-D.
- How many 2025-D Lincoln Shield Cent coins were made?
- 645,200,000.
What to check on your 2025-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 2025 (655 million made).
- Bubbles, peeling or gray patches on a zinc cent are corrosion of the copper plating, not a minting error. They don't add value.
- Judge the grade under good light. Modern zinc cents are judged on luster and eye appeal; spots, scratches and plating flaws lower value. Proofs are graded for cameo contrast (CAM / DCAM).
With 645 million made, the 2025-D 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 2025-D
Output at Denver slipped to 645,200,000 in 2025, from 1.5 billion the year before.
2025 came to 655 million, so neither mint's 2025 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Of the 16 Lincoln Shield Cents Denver struck between 2010 and 2025, this is the scarcest. No Lincoln Shield Cent of the 2020s had a smaller run.
Declining output and the end of the cent (2022 to 2025)
Cent production fell steadily in these years as the cost of making each coin climbed above three cents. Output dropped to about 2.3 billion per mint in 2023 and to about 1.7 billion at Philadelphia in 2024. In 2025 the Treasury announced it would stop ordering new cent blanks. Only about 655 million cents were struck at Philadelphia and 645 million at Denver.
The last circulating cents were struck at the Philadelphia Mint in November 2025, ending production after more than 230 years. A small number of final cents were struck with an omega privy mark for collectors. Proof cents from San Francisco continued in collector sets through 2025. With no new cents being made, existing coins continue to circulate. Many people are now saving 2025 cents as the end of an era.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 2025
The Treasury announced the end of penny production for circulation and the last circulating cents were struck in Philadelphia in November 2025. It was also the final year of the American Women quarters.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows a union shield with a scroll reading ONE CENT across it, with E PLURIBUS UNUM above and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the top. The shield stands for Lincoln's work to preserve the Union. The obverse keeps the Lincoln portrait, with the date and any mint mark to the right.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Lincoln Shield Cent (2010–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2025 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 645,200,000 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 97.5% zinc core, 2.5% copper plating |
| Weight | 2.5 grams |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Lyndall Bass (reverse), sculpted by Joseph Menna |
Other 2025 Lincoln Shield Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Lincoln Shield Cent | 655,200,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 2025-D Lincoln Shield Cent | 645,200,000 | Circulation strike | – |
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.