1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 866,000 made
- Mintage
- 866,000
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% tin and 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 1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1931-S is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
The 1931-S has the lowest mintage of any regular Lincoln cent after 1909, struck during the Depression.
Quick answers
- Is the 1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent rare?
- Somewhat. 866,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1931 Lincoln Wheat Cent?
- On the obverse, directly below the date. Philadelphia cents have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1931 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no San Francisco issue had a smaller mintage than the 1931-S.
- How many 1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent coins were made?
- 866,000.
What to check on your 1931-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1931-D (4.5 million made).
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the parallel lines in the wheat stalks, Lincoln's cheek and jaw, plus the hair above the ear. Uncirculated cents are also graded by color (RD, RB, BN) and full red coins are worth multiples of brown ones.
The story of the 1931-S
Production at San Francisco fell off a cliff in 1931. Only 866,000 were made, against 24 million the year before. That drop is why the 1931-S is the one people look for. After that, San Francisco didn't make another until 1935.
The other mints made far more that year: 1931 alone came to 19 million, roughly 22 for every 1931-S. If you're checking a pile of 1931 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1914-D (1,193,000) and the 1909-S VDB (484,000).
Only the 1909-S VDB has a lower mintage among San Francisco's 44 Lincoln Wheat Cents. No Lincoln Wheat Cent of the 1930s had a smaller run.
The Depression low and the late 1930s boom (1930 to 1942)
The Depression cut cent demand sharply. Production fell to 19 million in Philadelphia in 1931. San Francisco struck just 866,000, creating the 1931-S, a key date that many people saved at the time, so it is more available in uncirculated grades than its mintage suggests. Output stayed low in 1932 and 1933, with no San Francisco cents in either year. Recovery began in 1934, when Philadelphia struck 219 million.
Proof cents returned in 1936, first with a satin finish and later with a brilliant finish. The 1936 also has a doubled die obverse. Output climbed through the late 1930s and topped 887 million in Philadelphia in 1941 as the defense buildup increased spending. Because collecting albums became popular in this decade, many rolls were saved, so uncirculated red coins from 1934 onward are much easier to find than earlier dates.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1931
Coin production fell to some of the lowest levels of the century as the Depression deepened, creating key dates such as the 1931-S cent.
How to recognize it
Abraham Lincoln faces right with IN GOD WE TRUST above, LIBERTY to the left and the date to the right. The mint mark, when there is one, sits below the date. The reverse has two ears of wheat framing ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM across the top. The designer's initials V.D.B. appear on the reverse of some 1909 coins and on Lincoln's shoulder from 1918.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Lincoln Wheat Cent (1909–1958) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1931 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 866,000 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze) |
| Weight | 3.11 grams |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Victor David Brenner |
Other 1931 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 19,396,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1931-D Lincoln Wheat Cent | 4,480,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 866,000 | 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.