1952-S Lincoln Wheat Cent
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 137,800,004 made
- Mintage
- 137,800,004
- 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 1952-S Lincoln Wheat Cent worth?
Even worn Wheat cents usually sell for a little more than face, because so many people collect them by date. Bright uncirculated coins with red color bring more.
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 1952-S Lincoln Wheat Cent rare?
- No. 138 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1952 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 1952 are scarcer?
- The 1955-S at 44,610,000, the 1949-S at 64,290,000, the 1948-S at 81,735,000, plus 4 more. So the 1952-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1952-S Lincoln Wheat Cent coins were made?
- 137,800,004.
What to check on your 1952-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 1952 (187 million made).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1952 Lincoln Wheat Cent Proof (81,980 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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.
With 137,800,004 made, you can still find a 1952-S in rolls, old jars and inherited collections. The coins worth keeping are the uncirculated ones and any with a doubled die or other variety.
The story of the 1952-S
At 137,800,004, the 1952 run at San Francisco was close to the 1951 figure. The next year it made 182 million (1953-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1952-D alone came to 746 million, roughly 5.4 for every 1952-S. That makes the 1952-S the scarcer 1952 coin, though still a common one.
San Francisco struck the Lincoln Wheat Cent in 44 issues between 1909 and 1955. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1909-S VDB (484,000). Within the 1950s it's 6th smallest of 24, between the 1951-S (136 million) and the 1953-S (182 million).
Postwar bronze, the 1955 doubled die and the final wheat cents (1947 to 1958)
Bronze returned in 1947 and proof sets resumed in 1950. Postwar output kept climbing until Denver exceeded one billion cents for the first time in 1956. San Francisco struck its last wheat cents in 1955, ending S mint mark cents until 1968, which led many people to hoard the 1955-S.
The 1955 doubled die obverse is the most famous variety of this era. A misaligned hub impression doubled the date and lettering. Roughly 20,000 coins reached circulation, many through cigarette vending machines in New England. Also look for the 1956-D/D repunched mint mark and the rare 1958 doubled die obverse, with only a few known. The Lincoln Memorial reverse replaced the wheat ears in 1959, so 1958 was the last year of the wheat design. Uncirculated red coins from this era are abundant.
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 | 1952 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 137,800,004 |
| 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 1952 Lincoln Wheat Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 Lincoln Wheat Cent | 186,775,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1952 Lincoln Wheat Cent Proof | 81,980 | Proof | – |
| 1952-D Lincoln Wheat Cent | 746,130,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1952-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | 137,800,004 | 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.