1914-D Lincoln Cent

The end of Lincoln cent production for circulation has sparked questions about which ones are worth holding onto. While it may take quite some time for modern issues to attain much numismatic value, several 20th-century key dates are proven winners, including the 1914-D. 

With one of the lowest mintages of the entire Wheat Ears series (less than 1.2 million), this coin is worth hundreds of dollars in all but the very lowest grades, and many thousands of dollars in mint-state. Careful inspection is warranted for any purported example, including this one that Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) recently examined.

One easy coin authentication test requires just a scale, and this Lincoln cent weighs the expected 3.11g. Much more difficult is a metallurgical analysis, since it is available only to those with access to sophisticated equipment. This coin is composed of more than 99-percent copper, which is much higher than the expected amount and enough to determine it is fake.  Genuine examples are struck in an alloy of 95-percent copper and 5-percent tin and zinc.

To a skilled eye, however, the counterfeit has plenty of other red flags. It has very poor details throughout, along with mushy rims. Long die scratches appear through the word OF on the reverse. Additionally, the coin has been artificially colored, possibly by having chemicals applied to it in what may have been an attempt to remove the bright red appearance of a freshly minted forgery. 

In addition, the date and mintmark look bulbous and misshapen. This area of the 1914-D is always worth inspecting closely because some counterfeits are created by patiently whittling away the third digit of the date of a 1944-D—which has considerably less numismatic value—until it looks like a “1.” After close examination, it turns out that this particular counterfeit does not have an altered date and is an outright fake.

Skipping expert certification on a key date such as the 1914-D would be pound-foolish. Remember, NGC backs its determinations of authenticity and grade with the NGC Guarantee.

A version of this article appears in the April 2026 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).