Lincoln Cents: Why They're the Perfect Coin Series for Beginners (And Why I Still Love Collecting Them)
If you're brand new to coin collecting and you're not sure where to start, here's my honest answer: start with Lincoln cents.
Not because they're the most valuable coins out there. Most of them aren't. But because they're cheap, they're everywhere, and they'll teach you almost everything you need to know about this hobby without putting your wallet at risk. I've been collecting for a long time now, and I still pull out a magnifying glass to look at a penny more often than you'd probably guess.
Let me walk you through why.
What Makes Lincoln Cents Different From Other Coins
The Lincoln cent has been struck every single year since 1909, which makes it one of the longest-running coin designs in American history. That's over a hundred years of pennies sitting in drawers, jars, and old coffee cans, just waiting for someone to actually look at them.
Here's why that matters for you as a beginner: because so many were made, and because they're still technically legal tender, you can find genuinely old ones in circulation. You don't need to buy your way into this series. You can start by checking the change in your pocket.
That's rare in this hobby. Most series require you to spend money before you can even begin. Lincoln cents let you learn first and buy later.
A Little History (Just Enough to Matter)
In 1909, the U.S. Mint did something it had never done before — it put a real person's face on a circulating coin. Before that, every U.S. coin featured an allegorical figure, usually some version of Liberty. Abraham Lincoln, honored on the 100th anniversary of his birth, changed that.
The coin's reverse has changed a few times since then:
1909–1958: Two wheat stalks framing "ONE CENT" — these are the coins most people call "wheat pennies"
1959–2008: The Lincoln Memorial
2009–present: The Union Shield
If this feels confusing at first, that's completely normal. Just remember this: if the back of the penny shows wheat stalks, it's at least from 1958 or earlier. That single detail alone can help you sort a jar of change in about thirty seconds.
Why I Recommend This Series to Every Beginner
I've seen this happen many times: someone new to collecting gets excited, buys a handful of "rare" coins online without really understanding what they're looking at, and ends up disappointed. Lincoln cents let you avoid that entirely.
Here's why they're such a forgiving place to learn:
They're cheap to collect. A folder to hold an entire wheat cent collection costs less than a meal out. Most individual coins in the series cost next to nothing.
They teach you to spot key dates. Not every date in this series is common. A few, like the 1909-S VDB or the 1931-S, are genuinely scarce — and learning why takes you straight into understanding rarity, mintage, and survival rate, which matters for every coin you'll ever collect.
They reward close attention. Lincoln cents are where most collectors first learn to use a loupe (a small magnifying glass) to check for mint marks, doubling, and designer initials. Once your eye is trained on a penny, it transfers to every other coin you'll ever pick up.
You can build real momentum fast. Filling in a date-and-mint-mark folder gives you the satisfaction of finishing something, which keeps a lot of beginners in this hobby long after the initial excitement fades.
The Story Behind the 1909-S VDB
If there's one Lincoln cent story every beginner should know, it's this one.
When the Lincoln cent was first released in 1909, the designer, Victor David Brenner, included his initials — VDB — on the reverse. The Mint pulled them almost immediately after complaints that they were too prominent, which means only a limited number of coins were struck with those initials still in place, especially from the San Francisco mint.
That coin, the 1909-S VDB, is now one of the most famous key dates in all of American coin collecting. It's not the rarest coin out there by a long shot, but it's become something of a rite of passage. A lot of collectors, myself included, remember exactly where they were the day they finally found one for their collection.
Here's why this matters for you: that same idea — a small design detail that got changed, removed, or altered — is something you'll run into again and again in this hobby. Learning to notice it starts here.
What Most Beginners Get Wrong With Wheat Cents
Let me be honest with you about something. A lot of new collectors assume that any old, brown penny from the 1940s must be worth real money simply because it's old. It usually isn't.
Age alone doesn't make a coin valuable. What matters is how many of that specific date and mint mark survived in good condition, and how many collectors want one. Most wheat cents from the 1940s and 1950s are common, and they're priced only slightly above face value.
That's not a bad thing. It just means your goal with most of this series should be building a complete set for the enjoyment of it, not hoping to strike it rich. The handful of dates that are genuinely valuable stand out specifically because they're the exception, not the rule.
An Easy First Project: Roll Hunting
If you want to get your hands dirty right away, this is where I'd start. Head to your bank, buy a few rolls of pennies at face value, and sort through them.
You're looking for:
Wheat cents mixed in with modern pennies
Any coin that looks unusually worn, discolored, or doubled
Older dates you don't recognize
Most days, you won't find anything dramatic. But every so often, a wheat cent shows up in a roll of otherwise ordinary change, and there's a genuine thrill in that. It costs you nothing but a little time, and it's the exact same instinct that's kept collectors checking rolls for generations.
Why I Still Collect Them
I'll be honest — after years in this hobby, I could spend my time chasing much pricier coins. And I do collect other series too. But I still come back to Lincoln cents regularly, and here's why.
There's something grounding about a series this deep. Every time I think I've seen every variety, die crack, or oddity this design can produce, something new turns up. The 1955 doubled-die cent still amazes me every time I see a photo of one. The sheer number of dates and mint marks means there's always another coin worth chasing, even after all this time.
It's also just an easy series to share with someone new to the hobby. If a friend or family member ever asks me how to get started, I hand them a magnifying glass and a handful of pennies. Nine times out of ten, that's all it takes.
Getting Started This Week
If you want to actually begin, here's the simplest path I'd suggest:
Get a basic 10x loupe. You don't need to spend much on this.
Check a few rolls of pennies from your bank.
Pick up an inexpensive wheat cent folder to start organizing what you find.
Learn to identify the three reverse designs, so you can sort coins by era at a glance.
Start a simple notebook logging what you find and when.
None of this requires a big investment. That's the whole point.
If you'd like help understanding how a coin's condition affects its value once you start finding older dates, I've written a full guide on <cite index="1-1">how to read a coin grade and why MS-65 means something very different from MS-63</cite> — it's worth a look once you start noticing wear differences between coins.
You may also start noticing small doubling, extra lines, or odd shapes as you sort through rolls. If that happens, take a look at <cite index="1-1">what error coins are and whether you could have one without knowing it</cite> before assuming you've found something rare.
And once you start setting aside your better finds, it's worth learning <cite index="1-1">how to store coins the right way before you accidentally ruin them</cite> — a wheat cent that's survived seventy or eighty years deserves a little protection going forward.
The Bottom Line
Lincoln cents aren't exciting because they're valuable. Most of them aren't. They're exciting because they're accessible, they're everywhere, and they teach you how to actually look at a coin — patiently, carefully, one detail at a time.
If you're just getting started in this hobby and you're not sure where to begin, start here. Check a few rolls. Get a loupe. See what catches your eye. That's genuinely how most of us got started, myself included.
Want straightforward coin tips, value guides, and honest advice delivered to your inbox?
Join the Coins Clearly newsletter. It's free, beginner-friendly, and there's no fluff.
Subscribe here:https://coinsclearly.beehiiv.com/subscribe
August Keene is the founder of Numisteria, a coin collecting website built for beginners. His mission is to help new collectors avoid costly mistakes, understand what their coins are worth, and enjoy the hobby with confidence.
Suggested FAQ
Are wheat pennies worth money? Most wheat pennies are worth only a small amount more than face value, since they were minted by the millions and many survived. A handful of key dates, like the 1909-S VDB or 1931-S, are worth significantly more.
What is the rarest Lincoln cent? The 1909-S VDB is the most famous key date in the series, though other dates like the 1914-D and 1931-S are also considered scarce.
How can I tell if I have an old Lincoln cent? Check the reverse. If it shows two wheat stalks instead of the Lincoln Memorial or a shield, the coin was minted in 1958 or earlier.
Is it worth cleaning old pennies before collecting them? No. Cleaning a coin almost always lowers its value by damaging the original surface. Leave wheat cents exactly as you find them.
