Wheat Cent Varieties You Can Find in Rolls!


Here’s a challenge for Wheat Cent roll hunters. How many of these can you find (or have found):

  • 1909 S Over Horizontal S (S/S)
  • 1922 No D Strong Reverse
  • 1942-S/S RPM FS-512
  • 1944-D/S
  • 1954-D/D/D RPM FS-501

1909 S Over Horizontal S (S/S)


The repunched mintmark of the 1909 S Over Horizontal S (S/S) Wheat Cent (Penny) is a rare and interesting error. This is what happened at the mint: The “S” mintmark was pressed atop a faint horizontal “S.” Look at the right side of the mintmark for indications of the “S” over “SS.” Also keep in mind that worn cents may hide the repunched mark because it is subtle, and you may need a loupe or even coin microscope to see it.

Values are about $500 for low mint state, brown, and much higher for red brown and red cents. You should use magnification on all 1909-S cents to search for this subtle error.


1922 No D Strong Reverse


All 1922 cents were minted at the Denver facility. Demand for cents was high so the mint was overworked trying to produce as many as possible. An employee took a worn obverse die and tried to increase its lifespan by filing it, filling the mintmark so that it seemingly disappeared.

Worn reverse dies created the weak variety. But the combination of the filed obverse and newer reverse die resulted in the strong reverse.

The key diagnostic, of course, is the clarity of the lines in the wheat devices on the reverse.


1942-S/S RPM FS-512


This repunched mintmark is relatively easy to spot because so many of the 85,590,000 1942-S cents were produced. So you should find one in higher mint states than other repunched coins. Of the three places to look for the error, the one on the top serif of the “S” is the key.

Values are in the hundreds of the dollars for low mint state. The auction record is $1,763 for an MS67 example.


1944-D/S


PCGS CoinFacts states that the underlying S is higher than the D, with the top of the S visible above the D. Thousands were minted, so you can find some even in mint state condition. Values exceed $100 for XF45 brown examples, rising to several hundreds for mint state ones.


1954-D/D/D RPM FS-501


You will need a loupe or a coin microscope to see the faint traces of three repunched marks. The arrows above tell you where to look. Almost uncirculated examples sell for under $100. Low mint state in the hundreds.


As you look through cent rolls for these varieties, also keep watch for doubled dies of Wheat Cents, which you can read about here.

Also check the Proxiblog “error and variety” list to assemble as many errors and varieties as possible in this exciting series.

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