1956 d penny how much is it worth

The 1956 wheat pennies have value as numismatic coins. Keep reading to learn more about these one cent coins.

Table of Contents Show

• D Above Shadow D Error Coins
• How Much Is A 1956 Penny Worth That Is Worn (a.k.a. Circulated)?
• How Much Is An Uncirculated 1956 Penny Worth?
• IMPORTANT: Do You Know The Grade Of Your Penny?
• A List Of 1956 Penny Errors
• 1956 Penny Facts & Trivia
• #1 – What’s the most valuable 1956 penny ever sold?
• #2 – How many 1956 pennies were made?
• #3 – Who designed the 1956 Lincoln cent?
• More Info About Valuable Old Pennies
• Is the 1956 D penny rare?
• What makes a 1956 wheat penny valuable?

Specifications

Type: Wheat Penny
Year: 1956
Face Value: $0.01
Composition: 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
Total Weight: 3.11 grams

The US minted the 1956 wheat penny with no mint mark and also the 1956 D wheat penny. The mint mark, when present, can be found on the obverse side of the coin below the date.

Series	Location	Quantity Minted
1956	Philadelphia	420,745,000
1956 D	Denver	1,098,201,100

The 1956 wheat penny with no mint mark and the 1956 D wheat penny have similar values. Each coin is worth around $0.10 in very fine condition. In extremely fine condition the value is around $0.12. In uncirculated condition the price is around $0.30-0.35 for coins with an MS-63RB grade. Uncirculated coins with a grade of MS-65RB can sell for around $1.

Proof coins with no mint mark are available and they are each valued at around $10 in PR 65 condition. There were 669,384 proof coins minted.

Click here to search for wheat pennies on Amazon.

D Above Shadow D Error Coins

There is a rare error variety for the 1955 D wheat penny. On the obverse side of the coin the D mint mark is minted above a shadow D.

The 1956 wheat penny D above shadow D error coin is worth around $10 in very fine condition. In extremely fine condition the value is around $25. In uncirculated condition the price is around $35 for coins with an MS-63RB grade.

Grading System

Very fine- Lincoln's jawbone and cheekbone are worn but still separated. The wheat heads are not worn.

Extremely fine- There is only slight wear on the coin. All of the details are sharp.

MS-63RB choice uncirculated- In the major focal areas there are some blemishes or contact marks. The coin's luster might not be as prominent. The color is red-brown.

MS-65RB gem uncirculated- There is strong luster and eye appeal. A few light contact marks may be present but they are barely noticeable. The color is red-brown.

PR 65 proof- There are no flaws to this coin. A few blemishes may be present.

 

Sources:

The Red Book

See also:

1957 Wheat Penny
1955 Wheat Penny
1954 Wheat Penny

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Have a 1956 wheat penny and want to know what it’s worth?

Some 1956 wheat pennies are worth only a few cents. Others are worth hundreds of dollars.

To find out the value of your 1956 penny, you will first need to know a few things about it:

• What is the condition of your 1956 penny?…  Is it worn or uncirculated? Does it have any damage?
• Where was your 1956 wheat penny made?…  Was it the Philadelphia Mint or the Denver Mint?
• Are there any obvious errors on your coin?…  For example, is your 1956 penny a doubled die coin?

Read on, and we’ll look at how all of those factors come together so you can find out what your 1956 wheat penny is worth.

How Much Is A 1956 Penny Worth That Is Worn (a.k.a. Circulated)?

Let’s say you’ve got a regular 1956 wheat penny — one that you found in pocket change with moderate wear and no signs of errors or anything else unusual about the coin. How much is that 1956 wheat penny worth?

There are 2 possibilities:

1)  If you have a typical circulated 1956 penny that hasn’t been cleaned and has no signs of damage, then it’s worth a few cents more than its face value. Most 1956 pennies are worth 3 to 5 cents apiece — depending on how much wear they have.

NOTE: This includes a 1956 wheat penny with no mintmark that was made at the Philadelphia Mint and a 1956-D wheat penny that was struck at the Denver Mint.

2)  If you have a damaged 1956 penny that was found in pocket change, then it’s worth only the coin’s copper value — about 2 cents.

NOTE: Damage includes holes, dents, bends, and any signs of cleaning. (This is why you should never clean your coins! Doing so only diminishes their value.)

How Much Is An Uncirculated 1956 Penny Worth?

If you have an uncirculated 1956 wheat penny that has never been spent as money, then it’s going to be worth much more!

Wondering how you would ever be able to find a never-spent 1956 penny?

The most common way to encounter an uncirculated 1956 wheat penny is either by buying one from a coin dealer or from another coin collector… or by inheriting a coin collection containing 1956 pennies that have never been used as money.

So, how much is an uncirculated 1956 wheat penny worth?

Again, there are 2 possibilities:

1)  A typical uncirculated 1956 or 1956-D wheat penny is worth between 20 cents and $5.

2)  A proof 1956 Lincoln wheat cent that was struck for coin collectors and included in 1956 proof sets is worth $3 and up.

NOTE: These values are for uncirculated and proof coins in average condition — with no signs of damage, cleaning, or other problems. A 1956 penny with one or more of those issues is worth less.

IMPORTANT: Do You Know The Grade Of Your Penny?

To determine the true value of your 1956 penny, you first need to know what condition (or grade) your coin is in.

Grab a coin magnifier and a copy of the U.S. Coin Grading Standards book. Then, watch this video to see how to grade coins yourself at home:

A List Of 1956 Penny Errors

Have you taken a close look at your 1956 wheat penny? Is there anything strange or different about it?

Do you see any of these things:

• Doubling of the design
• Extra chunks of metal near the mintmark or another part of the coin
• Unusual markings

It’s worth looking for unusual things on your old pennies. Some really cool errors and varieties can be found on 1956 pennies — and many of these mistakes are valuable!

Here are a few 1956 wheat penny errors and their approximate values:

• 1956 doubled die pennies — $3 to $10+
• 1956 off-center pennies — $3 to $5+
• 1956-D repunched mintmark pennies — $3+
• 1956 clipped planchet pennies — $10+

NOTE: Some 1956 pennies with signs of doubling aren’t doubled dies but rather coins that exhibit machine doubling. That’s a type of damage caused in the minting process and doesn’t generally add any extra value to the coin. The differences between doubled die error coins versus coins with machine doubling can be subtle. It’s worth looking up to see if you have a coin with machine doubling or a valuable doubled die.

1956 Penny Facts & Trivia

There’s a lot of cool trivia about wheat cents that can help you expand your knowledge about old pennies and impress your family and friends.

Here are 3 fun facts about 1956 wheat pennies:

#1 – What’s the most valuable 1956 penny ever sold?

The all-time most valuable 1956 Lincoln cent was struck at the Denver Mint (“D” mintmark) and is in nearly perfect uncirculated condition with original coppery-red color.

This 1956-D penny was graded MS-67 by Professional Coin Grading Service and sold for $7,475 in 2005.

#2 – How many 1956 pennies were made?

While you probably don’t find 1956 pennies in pocket change every day, tons were made. In fact, more than 1.5 billion 1956 pennies were minted!

Here’s a breakdown of 1956 wheat penny mintages:

• 1956 Philadelphia penny (no mintmark) — 420,745,000 minted
• 1956-D penny (“D” mintmark) — 1,098,201,100 minted
• 1956 proof penny — 669,384 minted

#3 – Who designed the 1956 Lincoln cent?

The Lincoln cent was designed by sculptor Victor David Brenner in 1909. His initials (VDB) originally appear on the reverse (tails side) on the first Lincoln pennies struck in 1909.

However, some among the public thought his VDB initials, located at the bottom-center of the reverse of some 1909 pennies, were too prominent on the coin.

So the United States Mint removed the VDB initials later in 1909, restoring them in 1918 to the obverse (heads side) of the penny under Lincoln’s shoulder — where you can still find them on new pennies today.

More Info About Valuable Old Pennies

• Old Lincoln Cents You Can Still Find In Pocket Change
• 5 Popular Wheat Penny Error Coins
• Old Copper Pennies: Which Ones To Save & What They’re Worth
• 43 Most Valuable Pennies Worth Holding Onto
• Which Old Pennies Are The Most Valuable?

I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!

Is the 1956 D penny rare?

What makes a 1956 wheat penny valuable?