What is the significance/value to a “wheat penny”
They are simply the deisgn of the US penny reverse from 1909 until 1959 IIRC. Some have more value than others but not because of the wheat design- because of rarity/doublestruck, etc.
It also makes it really easy to spot copper ones if you want to say, mutilate them with a blowtorch.
Well, the 1909 SVDB pennies are worth a couple hundred. And the zinc pennies during the war are pretty cool looking (though they’re mostly made out of zinc nowadays anyway).
They just changed it in 1959 to honor Lincoln’s 150th birthday. It only makes the wheat pennies valuable in that there is a limited number of them. Really, thought, that’s what makes everything valuable.
Much like they changed the design of the dollar coin in 2000 (from Susan B. Anthony to Sacagawea), or from Franklin to Kennedy on the half-dollar in 1964, in 1959 they changed the reverse of the cent from the wheat sheaves to the Lincoln Memorial. Wheat cents are very hard to find in circulation, but common dates are available very cheaply in coin shops (you can buy a bag of 5000 Wheaties, $50.00 face value, for about $100 from many mail-order dealers). Some of the rarer dates, like the 1909S-VDB, 1914D and 1922 “plain” (which is really a die variety and was produced in Denver), can command hundreds of dollars in mint condition.
Enderw24, the cents you’re thinking of were actually zinc-plated steel, not pure zinc. And they only made those in 1943. Some 1944 and 1945 cents were made from melted-down shell casings.
red_dragon60, it’s already really easy to spot the copper ones. Look at the date; if it’s 1981 or earlier, it’s copper, 1983 or later, it’s 98% zinc. They switched over in the middle of 1982, so you have to weigh the 1982’s to find out which they are. It’s easy to do though, if you’re desperate to find out; stick a pin through the middle of a popsicle stick and glue a post-1982 cent to one end. Put the other cent on the other end. If it weighs less than a duck, burn it.
The value of a wheat penny in good condition varies from $00.20 to $50.00 and beyond.
Your public library has lots of information on coin collecting, if you want to learn about coin designs that preceeded our current ones.
You can also find values here:
http://www.mtswheats.com/collector.html
Don’t you mean the steel ones, issued in 1943?
Sorry, MrDeath. Your reply was great until that statement.
As a full-time coin dealer, I would currently buy your bag of wheats for $100, and wouldn’t sell one for less than $135 or so. Times change.
No, no, no. There is a much easier way, and I just tested it.
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Take a pre-1982 penny.
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Take a post-1982 penny.
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Flip each penny with your thumbnail, in the air. Note that the pre-1982 penny has a much richer “ring” to it than the post-1982 penny. This is due to the higher density of the copper.
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Flip the 1982 penny. See which one it sounds most like.
From doing it here now, it is pretty unambiguous even to a non-musical ear. And fast and simple to do, too.
Damn! you Una. We been selling these 89 cent fold-up cardboard balance scales to the dumm…er, uh, collectors for years. You just cost us our retirement. 
What I meant to ask (curses to this keyboard that never types what I mean) was, what is the significance to the design on a whet penny? Is there anything special about wheat that required it to be immortalized on a penny, does it being on the lowliest of coins say anything, did somebody extra special either commission the design or do the design?
Inquiring minds wish to know.
I would think it’s meant to be a tribute to the farmers of the country.
Yes, I meant the steal pennies from 1943. I thought they were just 1943, but I was too lazy to check and so I said the ones “during the war.” I didn’t know they were steal inside. I thought they were entirely zinc.
Anyway, I have a whole bag of wheat pennies in my closet. I’d estimate 2000 of them, but I’m not really sure. Should I be checking out e-bay?