# 1936 penny **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008 "2003-12-14T22:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/1 "2003-12-14T22:23:38Z")
We found one in our house.It even has a different back than new ones. Is it worth anything? Its not mint condiiton. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/2 "2003-12-14T22:32:55Z")
Was it like [this one](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2209656595&category=39456)? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/3 "2003-12-14T22:47:34Z")
It said One Cent on the back. ---
**Author:** ![gruelin1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/76d3ee/32.png) [@gruelin1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruelin1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/4 "2003-12-14T23:10:20Z")
That’s a “wheatstalk” penny. There is nothing unusual about it. i wouldn’t spend it at the local store, because it has collector’s value, but prolly not too much. Back when I was a little little kid (around 1970) we used to get wheatstalk pennies all the time. Memories. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/5 "2003-12-14T23:15:51Z")
Actually, and I hope a collector can verify this, there _was_ a penny sometime in the thirties that was incredibly rare. When I heard about it, probably fifteen years ago, they were selling for around $100,000. I think. It’s all awfully fuzzy and my dad’s penny albums are inaccessible… after seeing the story about it on television I went to his albums and sure enough, that particular penny was the only one missing. ---
**Author:** ![gruelin1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/76d3ee/32.png) [@gruelin1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruelin1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/6 "2003-12-14T23:32:17Z")
Not this date, all the respective mintings are pretty common. A “proof” coin would be valuable, but this person says that the coin is circulated, so therefore it is not “proof”. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/7 "2003-12-14T23:54:33Z")
Note to Americans: 1936 isn’t old. 😉 No offence intended, but if it’s a standard issue and well worn, then it’s probably worth a penny. There were a lot of these things made. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/8 "2003-12-15T00:16:20Z")
Well, according to [this table](http://www.pcgs.com/prices/frame.chtml?type=date&filename=lincoln_cent), if it’s “circulated,” it’s worth less than a dollar. (That’s what the dashes mean. The circulated grades are “G,” “F,” and “EF.”) Unless–it was a 1936 “doubled die” cent. If the date side of the coin looks like a double exposure, your coin could be worth $79 in “EF” (lightly circulated) condition. Still not enough to break the bank, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/9 "2003-12-15T02:31:24Z")
The truly valuable Lincoln cents, excluding “double die” and other manufacturing glitches, are the 1909-S, 1909-S-VDB, and 1931-S. All three were issued by the San Francisco mint in relatively small quantities. The “VDB” are the initials of the designer, Victor D. Brenner, which was on the original design, but dropped shortly after they began issuingthe coin, and not restored until after World War I.The “S” mint mark is just below the date; the VDB was, if I remember right, at the bottom of the reverse (wheat ears and one cent" side), and when restored was attached to the base of the bust of Lincoln. Somehat less rare but still valuable are the 1909-VDB from Philadelphia mint, without a mint mark, and 1911 with and without S mintmark. ---
**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/10 "2003-12-15T03:02:56Z")
You know you’ve had a really lucky day when you find an Indian Head 1860s penny out by the landfill, I did one day, unfortunately, the next day my brother spent it on a Coke machine to get a soda. I was none too pleased, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/11 "2003-12-15T04:21:47Z")
Your Coke machines take pennies? ---
**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/12 "2003-12-15T04:23:48Z")
I dont know, that’s the story he gave me, maybe he just ate it, pennies from the 1860’s were still a good source of copper, right? ---
**Author:** ![factorylife5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@factorylife5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/factorylife5)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/13 "2003-12-15T04:39:53Z")
i am hanging on to my old pennies. Every time i see a wheat penny in the drawer at on of my 2 jobs, i try to trade it for a regular one if i have one on me. If not, i just give it as change, and make sure to tell them. I have made people’s day doing just that. I have only one wheat penny currently, a 1952. That’s a noteable year to me, the first year chevy came out with fuel injection. Also, i was checking out the pennnies in a friend’s 5 gallon jug of change, and he let me have the severely dented indian head penny, from 1907. i have dented it back flat with my hatchet’s hammer side, leaving several dings on the indian side unfortuately. I should have used a vice. Oh well. I would like to ask about the other side… it’s got a wreath around the edges arranged similar to the wheat stalks, but it is not wheat. Anyone know what it was supposed to be? it’s got arrows in it, too, which point right. at the top of the wreath in the opening of it, it has an american shield. And says one cent in the middle in fatter leters than the wheat penny. I love this forum. Thank you all. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/14 "2003-12-15T04:40:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sattua \* > \*\*Actually, and I hope a collector can verify this, there _was_ a penny sometime in the thirties that was incredibly rare. When I heard about it, probably fifteen years ago, they were selling for around $100,000. I think. It’s all awfully fuzzy and my dad’s penny albums are inaccessible… after seeing the story about it on television I went to his albums and sure enough, that particular penny was the only one missing. \*\* This is probably the [1943 copper penny](http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/2003/q0512.htm). > [@](#): > > Because copper was used during World War II for shell casings, the U.S. Treasury decided to produce 1943’s pennies from steel coated with zinc. Some copper blanks were still inside the minting machinery when they made the switch, so there are a few very rare copper 1943 pennies. > > According to the American Numismatic Association, only 15 to 20 copper versions have been found so far, and they can be quite valuable: One sold at auction for $120,000 in 2002. The ANA warns, however, that copper versions are frequently counterfeited. If it sticks to a magnet, then it’s probably a fake. My Dad had a small coin collection when I was a kid and IIRC he did have one or two 1943 steel pennies, as well as a few Indian-head pennies. He sold his collection years ago, but I don’t think he had anything particularly valuable. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/15 "2003-12-15T04:49:53Z")
[linkity-link](http://www.heritagecoin.com/features/vcc/display.asp?Id=00.01_19&S=o&SID=402455ABE2E94928B73D6F41CDA99147) ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1936-penny/219008/16 "2003-12-15T05:42:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*The truly valuable Lincoln cents, excluding “double die” and other manufacturing glitches, are the 1909-S, 1909-S-VDB, and 1931-S. All three were issued by the San Francisco mint in relatively small quantities. > > Somehat less rare but still valuable are the 1909-VDB from Philadelphia mint, without a mint mark, and 1911 with and without S mintmark. \*\* 1914-D is 2-3x more valuable than the 1931-S in any given grade. Also, 1909-VDB and 1911 aren’t particularly valuable dates. You can get the 1909 VDB in higher grades cheaper than most other dates simply because it was a novelty and so many people put shiny new ones aside and they never (or barely) saw circulation.