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Our first coin proves that even the first year of issue can turn heads for these.
Explore the most valuable Lincoln Memorial cents from 1959-1969, focusing on condition, rarity, and key collectible varieties.
Key Takeaways
- Condition is paramount in determining the value of Lincoln Memorial cents from 1959-1969.
- Proof coins and special varieties command notable premiums and collector interest.
- High mintages do not guarantee availability of high-grade specimens; survival rates are low.
- Visual appeal, including toning and cameo contrast, can greatly increase a coin's desirability and price.
- Registry collectors prioritize the finest known examples, driving prices for top-grade coins.
What the video covers
- The video highlights the value of high-grade Lincoln Memorial cents from 1959 to 1969, emphasizing condition and rarity.
- Key coins include the 1959 MS68 red Denver cent selling for $38,400 and other notable high-grade examples.
- Collectors highly prize proof coins for their mirrored fields and cameo contrasts, with limited numbers graded at top levels.
- The 1960s cents show how condition trumps mintage numbers, with many common dates having scarce high-grade survivors.
- Special varieties like repunched mintmarks (RPMs) and triple die obverses add collectible interest and premiums.
- The video discusses the impact of mint quality control issues, especially in later years like 1969, affecting rarity and value.
- Registry collectors focus on coins with pristine surfaces, strong strikes, and vibrant red or red-brown luster.
- Proof coins from the era are purpose-built for collectors and offer a different appeal than business strikes.
- The video provides auction sale examples from 2023 to 2025, illustrating market trends and price points.
- Visual rarity, such as cameo contrast and toning, significantly influences premiums beyond technical grades.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and 1959 Lincoln Cents Overview
- 02:24High-Grade 1959 Coins and Proof Cameos
- 05:031960 Lincoln Cents and Varieties
- 07:371961 Lincoln Cents: Condition and Rarity
- 11:511962 Lincoln Cents and Proof Sets
- 14:311963 to 1965 Lincoln Cents and Special Varieties
- 18:171966 to 1968 Lincoln Cents: Visual Rarity and Market Trends
- 22:081969 Lincoln Cents: Quality Control Issues and Rarity
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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This 1959 Lincoln is graded MS67 plus red through PCGS. It sold for $4,320 right at the end of 2023. It has this really pumpkin gold color to it, intense mint luster to it, and pristine surfaces that remain like it just came off the
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production line. It's one of only four coins at this grade. The coin's subtle toning and perfect fields really make it a registry showpiece and really garner the value here. It's living proof that not all memorial cents are created
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equal. Condition is really everything. Next up, we head over to the Denver Mint, which struck 1.28 billion cents in 1959, but nearly all showed weak strikes or spotting. So, really high condition ones are worth holding on to. This one
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in particular sold for $159 [music] in July of 2025 and is among few examples that escape that fate. It has a really beautiful orange red color to it.
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It's a really clean surface that exemplifies what specialists really look for. While this coin is affordable, it's a great representation, I think, of what registry collectors really value. A perfect example of how quality will really trump quantity. The next example
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is a 1959 proof cameo. I wanted to make sure to mention the proof coins.
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Collectors really appreciate the elegance and precision of proof coins. This PR69 cameo graded through NGC sold for $384 in February of 2025. It's an absolutely gorgeous coin. It has those wonderful mirrored fields and that frosted design that creates a really deep cameo
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contrast. With only around 60 graded at this level, these coins are among the most visually striking examples of the first memorial proof cent. Finally, a coin that defines perfection. The 1959D Lincoln cent rated MS68 red by PCGS that sold for a staggering $38,400
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at the end of 2023. It is the single finest example ever certified. This thing really shimmers. It has almost a powder blue and lilac toning to it that's layered over that glowing copper gold color. There's no pierce to it in
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the census. So, this coin represents the pinnacle of modern copper preservation and an absolute cornerstone of any advanced Lincoln registry set. It's really just a wonderful coin. Why does the 1959 still matter? These cents may not have errors or mint marks that are
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abundant, but its legacy lies in transformation. Although there is a repunched mintmark that gains a lot of attention, these regular coins really mark the first appearance of Gasparro's design. The start of a 50-year run that shaped how America saw just a small
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denomination. 1960D small date graded really high. MS67 plus red through PCGS. This one sold in February of 2025 for $2,160.
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Denver's small date is highly sought in top condition. This coin features blazing red luster, sharp detail on Lincoln's hair and cheek, and flawless fields across the coin. It's a real perfect example of a high-end circulation survivor. The next one is a
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1960 large date rated MS65 red and brown. This one sold for $288 on November 3rd of 2025. Philadelphia struck hundreds of millions of large date cents, but fully red examples are really scarce. This MS-65 red and brown has smooth surfaces, balanced color, and
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strong strike details. It really makes it a standout for this grade. The third coin is a 1960 large over small date triple die obverse. It's known as an FS103 and is graded proof 67 red. It sold for $134,
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so a great premium over that one cent face value. Variety hunters will love this triple die obverse proof.
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Magnification really reveals doubling on the date, Liberty, and wheat stalks paired with deep red surfaces and pristine proof luster. This coin is really gorgeous. The fourth coin is a 1960 small date graded PR67 red cameo.
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This one sold for $89 in May of 2025. Proof collectors really appreciate these cameos. They have mirror-like fields.
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The frosted contrast gives the coins a real three-dimensional look and makes them both visually striking and highly collectible. So whether you're hunting through rolls, jars, or old collections, 1960 Lincolns show how even midcentury pennies can get really valuable.
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Let's paint a landscape. The year is 1961. Kennedy is in office. The mint is running full steam. And the Lincoln cent, it's still being produced in that classic 95% copper alloy. Philadelphia strikes more than 756 million pennies for this year. Denver
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cranks out more than 1.7 billion. And over in the proof division, the mint turns out a little more than 3 million specially polished pieces for us collectors. Now, on paper, nothing seems rare here. Everything's common.
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Everything's easy to find until you start chasing condition. Because the real story of '61 is this. Most of the cents from this year were not preserved. They picked up hits. They toned. They got jarred around in bags and pockets. High-end coins, they're
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really tough to find. Let's start with Philadelphia. Even though the mintage is massive, more than 756 million, very, very few good condition survivors are seen today. So, when a clean, fully red MS-67 comes along, collectors pounce on it. Back in 2019, an MS67 red certified
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by PCGS sold for $480. And that makes perfect sense. Pun intended. It has the look. Smooth red surfaces, no carbon, no spots, no distracting hits across Lincoln's cheek or coat, just clean copper. These early 60s Philadelphia cents can get pretty
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chippy, so when one comes looking like this, it stands out fast. Now we head over west to Denver and this is where the big money lives. Denver struck over a billion 1961 pennies and almost all of them are dirt common except at the
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highest levels of grading in condition. On April 4th of 2025, a gorgeous MS67 plus red would go through auction and brought in $3,240.
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Why? Well, the answer's simple. It's one of the finest known at the plus level as well. You get booming copper gold luster to this. No distracting marks across it and that crisp Denver strike that gives Lincoln's beard and coat real texture.
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For registry collectors especially, this is the kind of coin you fight for. In MS67, it's already tough. In MS-67 plus, it's something you'll never forget about. It's an elite territory coin and as of early 2025, nothing finer exists.
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Next up, a piece that comes from a whole different side of the mint, the proof division. Proof cents aren't accident coins, of course. They're purpose-built.
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Struck on polished dies meant for collectors like you and me. In April of 2025, a PR67 red brown sold for $114.
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And really, I think that's a sweet spot for collectors. You get the mirrored fields, the sharp details. Look at the steps, the beard, the lettering. It all pops. But because this example has just a hint of brown mixing with the red, it
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lands in that red brown category instead of full red and falls a little short value-wise. Still, for under $150, owning a top-end proof from 1961 is a no-brainer for anyone building out a year set or a proof run. And then we've
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got the curveball, the RPM. If you're new to the term, it means the Denver Mint punched the D into the die more than once. And in this case, one of those impressions sits horizontally under the primary mintmark. On July 22nd
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of 2025, an MS65 red example of the D over horizontal D RPM1 FS501, so a mouthful, sold for $64. And that's actually a really fair price for what it is. It's a neat variety. It's collectible, but not ultra rare. What
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makes it fun is that you can still cherrypick these out of pocket change today. Look in your 1961D rolls. If you see a mintmark that looks doubled sideways or a bit stretched horizontally, you may have the real thing. So, that's the story of 1961.
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Huge mintages, tiny survival rates at the top conditions, a Denver banger, a clean proof, and one of the more interesting RPMs of the early 60s.
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Let's start with Philadelphia. With a mintage of just over 609 million. This is actually the lower mintage of the two business strikes for the year. Finding a 1962 Philly penny is pretty easy.
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Finding one
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sign, that's a money maker. It means the coin has exceptional eye appeal for that grade. Sitting right on the doorstep of MS68. This specific coin sold for $1,680.
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At the time of this sale, PCGS had only graded about 36 of these at the same grade with only one single coin graded higher. When you're fighting for the top population spots in any registry, you got to pay up. Now, let's move to
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Denver. If you thought the Philly mintage was high, Denver laughed at that. They struck nearly 1.8 billion pennies at Denver that year.
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Statistically, finding a gem in a batch of 1.8 billion shouldn't be hard, right? Wrong. Because of that mass production, quality control often took a backseat.
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coins were banged up in the hoppers and bags before they even left the mint and went into general circulation. That's what makes this next coin really impressive. On May 4th, May the 4th be with you, 2025, an NGC graded MS67 plus red cross the
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auction block. It brought in $1,050. And again, notice that plus designation. According to the NGC census, there are only about seven coins graded higher than this one. Out of 1.8 billion, finding one that survived in this condition is basically like finding a
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needle in a hay stack inside another hay stack. For a 1962D to hit four figures, it has to be spectacular. And this one was. Finally, we have to look at the proofs. In 1962, the mint produced over 3 million proof sets. These were handled
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with care, though, sealed in packaging and sold to collectors. So, high-grade proofs are much more common than high-grade business strikes for this year. But common doesn't really mean they aren't beautiful, of course. Check out this PR69 red cameo that sold in
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October of 2024. It went for a very affordable $61. Now, PR69 is just one point away from perfection, which is 70.
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And getting that cameo designation means you have that nice frosty contrast on Lincoln's bust against the mirrored fields. For 61 bucks, this is arguably the best bang for your buck in the 62 lineup. You get a virtually perfect coin
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that looks incredible without the thousand price tag of the rare business strikes. It's a great entry point and you can see many of them go sub $100.
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So, what's the takeaway on 1962? This year is a masterclass in condition rarity. If you have a brown worn 1962 penny in your pocket, it's cool because it's copper, but it's not going to retire you. The gap between an MS66 and
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an MS-67 plus is the difference between a $10 coin and a $1,000 coin. Let's start with some good news for new collectors. If you want a coin that looks nearly perfect, you don't have to spend a fortune. Take a look at this
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1963 MS66 Plus red from Philadelphia. This one sold in September of 2025 and it sold right at $99. This is a gem coin. It's PCGScertified.
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It carries the plus designation and it has a beautiful red luster. So for under $100, you can own a coin that showcases the finest quality copper from 63. I think this is the sweet spot. High technical grade, stunning eye appeal in
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an affordable price for anybody. It proves high quality is still achievable, but budget friendly. Next, we move on to the Denver Strike Nightmare. This is where the 1963 trap really explodes. On May 1st of 2025, a 1963 descent graded
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MS67 red cross the auction block. This one had a stunning price of $6,300. The reason for this enormous price, it's a 60fold jump from the MS66 Plus a moment ago, and it lies in the strike quality. The auction notes specifically
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mention the softness on the Lincoln portrait, which was typical for the overworked Denver dies for that year. To find a coin that escaped the abuse of the Denver Mint and achieve a clean MS67 red grade is almost near impossible.
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This piece is one of only nine examples certified at that level with none finer currently. This sale demonstrates the massive premium that's paid for registry set level coins. Finally, we move on to the proof color anomaly. We examine the
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proof issue, which presents a unique lesson, I think, in market preference. We usually hunt for deep cameo contrast and blazing red surfaces and modern proofs. However, this sale from November of 2025 defies that rule. It's a 1963 Lincoln scent proof rated PR68 brown. It
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sold for $780. Now, why would a brown proof command a price this high? The answer is gorgeous toning. For advanced collectors, brown might often imply natural developed color, usually of pinks, blues, and kind of an electric purple that developed
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over decades. This sale proves that in high-grades, I appeal often trumps that technical color classification. If a coin has a beautiful certified toning, the market will always pay up for it.
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So, what's my take on the 1963? I think it teaches us that in high mintage years, the rarity is really hidden in the quality of the strike. We can see that with many other Lincoln scents that have large amount of
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mintages. It's odd, but usually finding really high condition ones becomes quite hard. Let's talk about that $9,000 experimental monster. We're starting with the numismatic treasure that is a historical artifact, the 1964 SMS send.
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In August of 2025, a 1964 SMS SP65 red sold for a crazy amount, $9,600.
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This coin is not a regular proof though or even a regular business strike. It is a prototype coin. So, if you've never heard of these, then you'll want to know a little bit more about them. You'll want to do some more research. They're
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really cool. It was struck as an experiment for the special mint sets or SMS that would follow. The auction data confirms its history. These coins were long kept secret, likely originating from the estate of former mint director Eva Adams. Look for the key identifiers
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on these. A razor sharp strike, high squared off rims, and a distinctive satin-like finish. Not the mirror fields of a proof. With fewer than 20 sets believed to exist, this is a five figureure rarity driven purely by its
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historical mystery, which is what I love about this hobby. Now, let's look at the highest technical grade available, the proof issue. On November 18th of 2025, a 1964 PR70 red sold for $3,600.
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This is like the holy grail of modern grading. PR70 is a flawless coin with no imperfections, even under 10 times magnification with only 11 coins ever certified at this level. This is where the premium for absolute perfection lives. However, the fact that the
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flawless PR70 is worth less than half the price of that SMS prototype is the key market lesson for the 64. The value of proven rarity and historical lineage is always going to be greater than the value of modern technical perfection.
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Finally, we examine the coins that account for the massive mintage, the regular Philadelphia in Denver business strikes. For new collectors, this is the accessible sweet spot, I think. A 1964 MS67 red graded by Annex sold for just $139.
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and a 1964D MS67 red through NGC sold for just $192. These coins are technically stunning.
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MS67 is considered gem, of course, but their price confirms the reality of the mintage. With over 6 billion pennies produced, perfection is relatively common. The small premium for the Denver coin is due only to its slightly tougher grading population. So, what's my take?
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What does 1964 teach us in the Lincoln Sense series? It teaches us that rarity is a hierarchy. At the top is historical rarity. In the middle is technical rarity and at the base is high-grade accessibility. Like those business
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strikes. We are starting with the coin that defines the extreme rarity for 1965. The high-grade business strike. In November of 2023, a 1965 Lincoln scent graded MS-67 plus red crossed the auction block selling for a staggering $4,080.
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Why such an explosive price tag on a coin with a 1.5 billion mintage? The auction notes make it clear. This issue is desperately rare at the MS67 grade level and above. This superb gem is basically flawless, boasting vibrant
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luster and perfectly preserved original red surface. This coin is one of only three ever graded MS67 plus by PCGS with only a single coin certified finer. The rarity here is driven not by scarcity of the striking but by the difficulty of
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finding a high condition coin. This chaotic production year meant billions of coins were struck, but almost none escaped contact marks. This is the ultimate proof that condition is the only scarcity that really matters. Now, to understand the next auction, we need
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to quickly define the SMS program, which made its official debut in 1965. This is where collectors often get confused. But before that, make sure you check out my last video on the prototype coins for these from 1964. They are
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worth a ton of money. These SMS coins were struck for collectors, so they have a slightly different high quality finish. This makes them visually unique from circulation strikes. In October of 2023, a 1965 SMS scent graded MS-66 red cameo sold
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for a very strong $228. The real key here is the cameo designation, indicating a really beautiful frosty contrast. While the SMS program made these coins more readily available in Mintstate, the premium for a clean, colorful, certified example is
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still really substantial. This is a must-have piece for collectors building an SMS set, offering a budget friendly entry point, I think, into highgrade numismatics. If we also take a look at this other 1965 SMS lincolnent, this one graded SP64 red cameo, we can see major
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differences that relates us right back to that condition issue. The spotting on this coin drops its value and makes it a really, really affordable early SMS coin for any collector. Now, let's look at the harsh reality and see how slight
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deterioration can save you literally thousands of dollars. This is the critical information for the budget collector or the newbies. In April of 2024, a 1965 Lincoln graded MS66 red and brown sold for just $71.
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The price drop is immediate and dramatic. This coin is still a very high-grade MS-66, just one grade below the top population monster, but the red and brown designation means the coin has begun to tone, losing some of its original red
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luster. Now, personally, I love toning, but it does lower the value in a lot of cases. This sale is critical for new collectors. Accepting a slight color mellowing will save you a fortune. The massive jump from this affordable MS-66
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Red Brown to the top population MS67 Plus is the vast Gulf in the 1965 market. You need to decide if you want to pay a 40 times premium just for that extra plus grade and a really perfect red color.
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First, let's cover the Cameo King and the $700 premium. We begin with the highest valued coin of the year. The ultimate example of market demand. This 1966 SMS Lincoln graded MS67 Cameo sold for a staggering $780.
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Now listen up. The premium here isn't just about the MS67 grade. It is driven by the cameo designation. The 1960s special mint sets or SMS were struck with extra care, but only a tiny fraction received the die polish and
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striking pressure needed to create the dramatic visual contrast that defines a cameo. This contrast means the portrait of Lincoln is really frosty, bright white almost, while the fields or background are deeply reflective and mirrorike.
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This contrast is really rare, visually stunning, and highly coveted by pretty much any collector. With only 24 coins certified at this level, you are paying a massive premium for that one specific beautiful visual effect. That is the true power of visual rarity in 1966.
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Now, let's get on to that business strike condition. If we analyze the cruel reality for the everyday business strike, then we'll see that this is the condition rarity trap of 1966. We have an enormous price chasm between two
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adjacent grades. The 1966 Lincoln scent graded MS66 red that sold for an accessible $99 and is still a clean gem.
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But then we have just one grade higher, the 1966 Lincoln scent that's graded MS67 red that sold for a staggering $552.
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So why the $450 difference? The mint was mass- prodducing coins at this time and at an incredibly high speed with soft dyes. The MS-66 coin survived, but usually with minor contact marks. An MS-67 coin is a statistical anomaly.
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Really, one that somehow spent over half a century avoiding the bumps, rolls, and abrasions of mass handling. The population is really small, and collectors pay hundreds of dollars just to cross that invisible barrier. The $552 sale really proves that MS-67 is
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the ultimate wall of condition rarity for the year of 1966. Now, you probably remember me mentioning the budget super grade anomaly. This next coin offers a crucial lesson for the budget conscious collector, and I think it really exposes a fascinating
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market glitch. In March of 2025, a 1966 SMS Lincoln scent, graded MS68 red, so really high, sold for an unbelievable low price of $84.
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How can an MS68 Super Gem, which is technically one full grade point higher than the $780 Cameo, sell for less than a hundred bucks? The answer is simple.
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The lack of contrast is the budget saving point. This coin achieved the MS-68 grade because it is physically flawless, but it did not carry that highly priced cameo contrast. This is the ultimate smart buy. I think you get
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the highest possible technical grade for a modern penny with an MS68, but because the color and visual flash aren't there, the price collapses. If you prioritize technical perfection over that visual rarity, then this MS-68 is a phenomenal steel.
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We begin with the coin that was actually meant to circulate, the 1967 business strike. This coin exposes the difficulty of finding high-grade examples from this period of frantic mass production from the mint. In January, a few years back,
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a 1967 Lincoln scent graded MS-67 red sold for $340. So why is a common business strike from 67 worth over 300 bucks? The reason is the condition rarity. The mint was operating at a breakneck speed that year. It struck billions of coins that
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were immediately thrown into massive canvas bags. Every single coin almost suffered contact marks, dents on them, abrasions on them from banging together inside those bags. An MS-66 coin is really clean, but an MS-67 coin is statistically almost impossible for this
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year. It is a miracle survivor. The population report also confirms this. Only 18 coins have ever reached the grade at PCGS, and zero of them have graded higher. You are paying that $340 premium not for a rare date but for a
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coin that managed to get through six decades avoiding physical contact to it pretty much. Next we'll move over to the SMS ceiling, the MS69 rarity. This is a top grade special mint set coin. The SMS were produced in better than average
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quality to replace proof sets during the coin shortage. While they are usually much nicer than business strikes, reaching the highest grades remains really, really hard to do. In 2024, a 1967 SMS Lincoln scent graded MS-69 red sold for a staggering $600.
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This coin is the ultimate condition rarity for that year. MS69 is reserved for the coins that are basically flawless. A distinction that is almost impossible to achieve on copper coins, which as you know, tone and spot really easily. The $600 price confirms that
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within the SMS series at least, the value is tied almost entirely to that technical grade. If you are a registry set collector, trying to build the best possible set, a coin like this, or at least as close as possible to this
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grade, is essential to make a registry set. The market is paying a huge premium for the two points of grade separation between this flawless coin and a common, so to speak, MS67, making it the most expensive 1967 penny recorded. Now,
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let's talk about a popular visual attribute. Cameo. I want everyone to kind of understand cameo. Cameo refers to the dramatic contrast where the central design element, which is Lincoln's portrait in this case, is frosty white set against a mirror-l like
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background field. A beautiful feature, but does it guarantee a high price? Absolutely not. In February of 2025, a 1967 SMS MS-65 red cameo sold for just $54.
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This coin proves the hard truth. Grade is king. There's so many of them out there in the low to midms MS grades that this one just isn't important. Even with the cameo designation, which does add eye appeal, it cannot overcome a common
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technical grade. An MS65 grade is accessible for these. The NGC census shows hundreds have been graded. The market already has plenty of nice MS65 coins. But hey, I have one of these and I'll buy one of these for $54 all day
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long. But you can let me know in the comments if you call this a common grade like PCGS does. The lesson here, I think, is really crucial. Don't chase a beautiful cameo designation unless it's paired with a superb gem grade of MS-67
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or higher. If you prioritize the visual contrast over the technical grades, you can really get a lovely coin for a great price, but the investment potential will be capped. So, what is the core lesson?
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What can we take away for the 1967 Lincoln scent? It's a perfect illustration of how to find value in a really high mintage year.
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The market leader, the coin that sets the price ceiling for all 1968 business strikes, the Philadelphia issue. In June of 2024, so not too long ago, a 1968 Lincoln graded MS67 plus red sold for $690.
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This price is driven entirely by that plus grade. We can see other ones graded MS-67 without the plus designation and it drops dramatically. You can buy one of those for only a little over $100.
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The population report reflects this rarity, too. Only four coins have ever been graded, MS-67 plus at PCGS with none finer. So, you're paying $700 for superiority, a coin that guarantees a high rank and collector value for any registry set. But we need to look over
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to the mintmark price cliff, which is the examination of the staggering difference in the value between the three mintmark business strikes at MS67 grade. This is the ultimate lesson in the reality for this year. First, we look at the Denver Mint with a 1968D
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Lincoln scent graded MS67 red. This one sold for half that price at $312 in January of 2024. Just a month later, a 1968 Sinkent graded MS67 red sold for only $61. These are the exact same grade. Yet, the San Francisco coin is
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worth nearly five times less than the Denver coin. Why, you might ask? The simple answer is availability. The $312 Denver coin is significantly harder to find than an MS67 from the San Francisco Mint. The San Francisco Mint in 1968
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produced far better quality strikes overall than Denver or Philadelphia. But this makes high-grade preservation really common amongst them. The market punishes availability like this. The S mint is the most accessible high-grade 68 penny, while the D mint is a
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legitimate scarcity, so they're usually seen selling at higher values. Finally, we're going to address the proof coinage because you can't have all the coins from 68 without talking about the proofs. Proofs are struck for collectors. On January 29th of 2024, a
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1968S Lincoln scent graded PR69 cameo sold for $139. This proof coin is basically perfect.
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PR70 is the highest grade you can get and PR69 is near flawless. It also having that cameo designation really just confirms the beautiful contrast between the frosty Lincoln portrait and the mirrored background. This proof is what I like to call a rarity trap. A
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coin's perfection in a grade like PR69 can still not compete with the extreme scarcity of a top grade business strike out of Denver or Philadelphia. The value of a business strike MS-67 plus is really representing that miracle survivor. Like I mentioned earlier, so
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in closing, what's the core lesson of 1968 Lincoln sense? If you're going to hunt them in rolls, pocket change, old collections, that dusty old jar in the closet, you're looking for mark-free Philly cents. Any of them that can come
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back graded really high can be worth hundreds of dollars. Now, if you're jumping right to buying graded certified coins, this year demands careful attention to the mint mark. But like I showed in the video, you can find San
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Francisco and Denver minted coins in pretty decent grades for $300 or less. And for San Francisco coins, even in high grades, you can get those all day for $100 or less.
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Let's start with the most expensive coin of this list and one of the most expensive of the 1969 business strikes.
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These were the regular issue coins that went out to everyone in circulation. All of these sales I'll talk about are within the last two years or so. So, they're pretty relative to the current market, but you can reference actual
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certified sales like this that might be a little more current on a variety of websites to include mine. variety.com.
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This 1969 Sinkent graded MS67 red sold for $1,320. For most dates, the MS-67 grade is going to be really tough to get, but manageable. You'll see a lot of MS-67s across all the years of Lincoln Sense, from wheatbacks to memorial scents to
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current day issues. For the 1969s, this is going to be the wall, though. So, why is it so rare? The 1969 S production was really poor. It was plagued by heavily araided dyes and poor quality control. The surfaces were often
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marred before the coins even left the mint as many of them would be made and then thrown into huge canvas bags where they all bang together. PCGS is only certified 22 coins at this grade with only four known to be finer. The $1,320
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price is really that tax you pay for owning a true statistical survivor like this. a coin that managed to escape the destructive environment of the minting process back then. This coin proves that a common mintage date can be a huge
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value to your collection because of that mass production, but so very little of them in high condition being on the market. But now, let's look over to the rest of that hierarchy. Let's look at the Philly and Denver mints. The value
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disparity between the three mints in 1969 really shows a clear financial ladder, I think.
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We begin with the Philly issue, a 1969 Lincoln scent, also graded MS67 red. This one sold for $216.
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And this really sets the base price for the grade. Next is the Denver issue, a 1969D Lincolnent graded MS67 red that sold for $384 in the early part of 2024.
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This $160 jump proves that the demint coins are significantly harder to find in higher conditions, and it's usually due to harsher circulation over in the western states. But then you jump from a $384 Denver coin all the way to that $1,300
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San Francisco coin. This will give you one of the clearest examples in modern numismatics of how rapidly conditioned scarcity can inflate the price of a coin. Then finally, we're going to look at the 1969 proof coinage to show you
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some more versions of the coin from the market. This is from the same mint as that San Francisco coin, but of course the process of making these proofs is much more quality controlled. Back in 2023, so only a couple years ago, this
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1969 Sincent, graded PR69 deep cameo, sold for $48. A couple of more recent sales of similar grades have sold for $3 to $500. This proof coin is really virtually perfect.
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PR69 deep cameo is the ultimate visual standard. It's flawless. It has flawless fields, a deep contrast. It's a beautiful coin, but let's compare that price to the business strike. 408 bucks versus 1,320.
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Proof coins are meant to be perfect, so to speak, making high-grades really common. The business strike MS67 is a statistical miracle from a so-called junk bin. The $1,300 price is the price of that really hard to find coin, while
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the $400 price for this proof is really more of an coin that would be expected to have perfection. So, what is the strategy and closing thoughts for the 1969 Lincoln scent? If you are a collector looking for investment
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potential, you need to target the 1969 S's in the highest grades. The market has spoken really clearly. It will reward the survival of a clean surface from any of the mints for this year. Let me know what you think about these
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pennies in the comments and more importantly what you've come across in your coin and bank note searches. I'll see you guys in the comments and in the community tab where we can talk about all that and I'll see you in the next
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video. Have an awesome day.
Topics:Lincoln Memorial cents1959 penniescoin gradingproof coinsRPM varietiescoin collectingnumismaticscoin auctionshigh-grade penniescoin rarity
