Values
A Shield cent’s market depends on the date, the mint mark, the grade, and the color. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
PCGS CoinFacts and NGC named no traditional key date inside the circulating Shield years. This page will not invent one. The 2025 cents are the last circulation strikes, not a key.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn common Shield is still worn.
Errors
These are named varieties. This page will not invent a count.
Union Shield. That is the reverse type from 2010. It is not an error.
West Point and Extra V. Collector and named-variety listings exist. They are not circulating P/D rows on this chart.
2009 Bicentennial reverses. Those four scenes are a different page. They are not Shield errors.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Bicentennial and Shield page. We do not host their plates. This site still splits the two series.
Varieties
The Union Shield is one reverse. These are mint marks guides name. They are not new designs, and this page does not print a count for either.
- 2017-P2017 is the first year a P mint mark appears under the date on a circulating cent. Earlier Philadelphia Shield cents have no mint mark.
- 2019-WGuides list a 2019-W cent with the collector packaging of that year. It is a West Point mint mark, not a new reverse.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Circulating Shield cents were struck at Philadelphia and Denver. The counts below are the NGC Coin Explorer cells that printed a mintage in this pass.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | P | 1,963,630,000 | 822061 | — | — | — |
| 2010 | D | 2,047,200,000 | 822065 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | P | 2,402,400,000 | 822072 | — | — | $3.50 |
| 2011 | D | 2,536,140,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2012 | P | 3,132,000,000 | 822078 | — | — | $3.50 |
| 2012 | D | 2,883,200,000 | 822079 | — | — | $3.50 |
| 2013 | P | 3,750,400,000 | 821998 | — | — | $2 |
| 2013 | D | 3,319,600,000 | 822095 | — | — | $3.50 |
| 2014 | P | 3,990,800,000 | 822103 | — | — | $3.50 |
| 2014 | D | 4,155,600,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | P | 4,691,300,000 | 821991 | — | — | $2 |
| 2015 | D | 4,674,000,000 | 617370 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.75 |
| 2016 | P | 4,698,400,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2016 | D | 4,420,400,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | P | 4,361,220,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | D | 4,272,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | P | 4,066,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | D | 3,738,400,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2019 | P | 3,542,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2019 | D | 3,497,600,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | P | 3,560,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | D | 4,035,600,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2021 | P | 3,925,820,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2021 | D | 3,982,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2022 | P | 3,129,200,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2022 | D | 3,230,400,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | P | 2,262,000,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | D | 2,260,800,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | P | 1,712,000,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | D | 1,513,200,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2025 | P | 655,200,000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2025 | D | 645,200,000 | — | — | — | — |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
2011-D, 2014-D, and 2016 through 2025 are the Wikipedia business strikes NGC left blank. SMS, West Point, Extra V, and set listings stay off. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the date. Read the mint mark. Look at the shield before you argue color.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A circulating Shield cent is copper-plated zinc. The 2009 Bicentennial reverses are a different page.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Thickness | 1.55 mm |
| Weight | 2.5 g |
| Composition | copper-plated zinc |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Victor D. Brenner obverse; Lyndall Bass reverse |
Diameter is the U.S. Mint circulating-cent figure (19.05 mm). Thickness 1.55 mm, weight 2.5 g, and copper-plated zinc are the Numista Union Shield type page (N#10969). This is not the 2009 Bicentennial reverse set.
Grading
A Shield cent wears first on Lincoln’s cheek and hair, and on the Union Shield. The Shield is the reverse type, not a grade.
This page starts in 2010. 2009 Bicentennial reverses live on their own page even though NGC lists them together. Copper color is a color call, not a G / VF / MS-63 cell.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln’s cheek and hair | The cheekbone and the hair above the ear. | Those high points flatten while the coat can still look busy. |
| Union Shield | The stripes and the bar on the shield. | The shield is the reverse type. A slick shield is wear. |
| Date and mint mark | The date under the bust, and P or D when the mint marked it. | A worn date is a worn cent. West Point collector strikes are not this circulating chart. |
| Color | Remaining original red versus brown. | BN / RB / RD is a color call. It is not a grade number. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. Compare the coin in hand to PCGS Photograde. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a Lincoln Shield cent if you already know the type.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the Union Shield are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this Lincoln Shield cent are already slick.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the Union Shield are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 2010-D is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the Union Shield are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from lincoln’s cheek and the union shield.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- Lincoln’s cheek and the Union Shield are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. Lincoln’s cheek and the Union Shield still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on lincoln’s cheek and the union shield. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 2010-D is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on lincoln’s cheek and the union shield.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on lincoln’s cheek and the union shield.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on lincoln’s cheek and the union shield.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on lincoln’s cheek and the union shield.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean Lincoln Shield cent for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on lincoln’s cheek and the union shield.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof Shield cents exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid — NGC did not print one on the circulating rows used here. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color
BN, RB, and RD describe remaining original color on uncirculated copper. They are not extra numeric grades. The names also live on the glossary.
| Code | Name | Remaining original red |
|---|---|---|
| RD | Red | 95% or more of the original red remains |
| RB | Red-Brown | 5% to 95% of the original red remains |
| BN | Brown | Less than 5% of the original red remains |
Overview
A Lincoln Shield cent is a United States one-cent coin with Brenner’s Lincoln on the front and a Union Shield on the back. Collectors mean the circulating coins from 2010 on. People still call it a penny. Both names point at the same circulating type.
People like them because the type is still pocket change. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped cent looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Mint put the Union Shield on the reverse in 2010 after the 2009 Bicentennial set. Brenner’s Lincoln stayed. NGC still files 2009 and Shield under one subcategory. This site does not.
This page will not invent a shop list or a key-date romance for the last circulation cents.
Design
Obverse: Brenner’s Lincoln, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY,” and the date. Reverse: a Union Shield, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “ONE CENT.” The mint mark sits under the date.
Look at the cheek, the shield stripes, and the date. Those spots go flat first. Color is a later call.
People Also Ask
What years are Lincoln Shield cents?
The circulating Union Shield reverse starts in 2010 and is still the circulating type. 2009 used four Bicentennial reverses. That year lives on its own page.
How much is a Lincoln Shield cent worth?
It depends on the date, the mint mark, the grade, and the color. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Why does the chart end in 2025?
Circulating Shield cents end in 2025. Philadelphia and Denver through that year are on the chart, including 2011-D and 2014-D. The 2025 pair matches the full-year cent total because cent production stopped. 2026 cents were not struck for circulation. Proofs stay off.
Is 2009 on this page?
No. NGC lists 2009 Bicentennial and Shield together. This site still writes two pages. 2009 is the Bicentennial page.
What do BN, RB, and RD mean on a Shield cent?
Brown, red-brown, and red. They describe remaining original red. They are a color call, not a G, VF, or MS-63 number.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story. A common early Shield in a high grade can cost more than a later date NGC has not printed a mintage for. That is normal.
If you inherited a jar, do not scrub the date to “see it better.” Keep them in the holders they arrived in, or in cheap cardboard flips, and take the box to a person who sees Shield cents every week. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio. This site does not invent shop names to fill a paragraph.
Raw coins are fine. So are slabs. What is not fine is a coin that has been cleaned until the fields look like glass, then offered as “original.”
If you collect by type, one honest circulated Shield will teach you the reverse. For the 2009 set that came first, read the Lincoln Bicentennial cent page. For the Wheat type that started this portrait, read the Lincoln Wheat cent.
A Final Word
Shield cents reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark. Leave the polish under the sink.
When you want the 2009 reverses, the Bicentennial cent is already here.