Starting in 1959, the Lincoln Cent reverse design was changed from the original wheat ears to a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial. This change in design change is often used as a point of distinction for determining which Lincoln Cents are worth saving from circulation.
Even though the mintage figures for the Lincoln Cent had been climbing since the mid 1950’s, they seemed to establish a permanent high level with the new design. The lower mintage Lincoln Memorial Cents consist of the few San Francisco mint coins struck for circulation in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. These coins have mintages around the 500 million mark, which is significantly lower than the Philadelphia and Denver issues, which typically stretch into the billions.
The table below displays the mintage figures for Lincoln Memorial Cents struck from 1959 to 2008. For early dates, view the Wheat Cent Mintages page.
Lincoln Memorial Cent Mintages
| Issue | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1959 | 609,715,000 |
| 1959-D | 1,279,760,000 |
| 1960 | 586,405,000 |
| 1960-D | 1,580,884,000 |
| 1961 | 753,345,000 |
| 1961-D | 1,753,266,700 |
| 1962 | 606,045,000 |
| 1962-D | 1,793,148,140 |
| 1963 | 754,110,000 |
| 1963-D | 1,774,020,400 |
| 1964 | 2,648,575,000 |
| 1964-D | 3,799,071,500 |
| 1965 | 1,497,224,900 |
| 1966 | 2,188,147,783 |
| 1967 | 3,048,667,100 |
| 1968 | 1,707,880,970 |
| 1968-D | 2,886,269,600 |
| 1968-S | 258,270,001 |
| 1969 | 1,136,910,000 |
| 1969-D | 4,002,832,200 |
| 1969-S | 547,309,631 |
| 1970 | 1,898,315,000 |
| 1970-D | 2,891,438,900 |
| Issue | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1970-S | 693,192,814 |
| 1971 | 1,919,490,000 |
| 1971-D | 2,911,045,600 |
| 1971-S | 525,133,459 |
| 1972 | 2,933,255,000 |
| 1972-D | 2,665,071,400 |
| 1972-S | 376,939,108 |
| 1973 | 3,728,245,000 |
| 1973-D | 3,549,576,588 |
| 1973-S | 317,177,295 |
| 1974 | 4,232,140,523 |
| 1974-D | 4,235,098,000 |
| 1974-S | 409,426,660 |
| 1975 | 5,451,476,142 |
| 1975-D | 4,505,275,300 |
| 1976 | 4,674,292,426 |
| 1976-D | 4,221,592,455 |
| 1977 | 4,469,930,000 |
| 1977-D | 4,194,062,300 |
| 1978 | 5,558,605,000 |
| 1978-D | 4,280,233,400 |
| 1979 | 6,018,515,000 |
| 1979-D | 4,139,357,254 |
| 1980 | 7,414,705,000 |
| 1980-D | 5,140,098,660 |
| Issue | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1981 | 7,491,750,000 |
| 1981-D | 5,373,235,677 |
| 1982 | 10,712,525,000 |
| 1982-D | 6,012,979,368 |
| 1983 | 7,752,355,000 |
| 1983-D | 6,467,199,428 |
| 1984 | 8,151,079,000 |
| 1984-D | 5,569,238,906 |
| 1985 | 5,648,489,887 |
| 1985-D | 5,287,399,926 |
| 1986 | 4,491,395,493 |
| 1986-D | 4,442,866,698 |
| 1987 | 4,682,466,931 |
| 1987-D | 4,879,389,514 |
| 1988 | 6,092,810,000 |
| 1988-D | 5,253,740,443 |
| 1989 | 7,261,535,000 |
| 1989-D | 5,345,467,111 |
| 1990 | 6,851,765,000 |
| 1990-D | 4,922,894,533 |
| 1991 | 5,165,940,000 |
| 1991-D | 4,158,442,076 |
| 1992 | 4,648,905,000 |
| 1992-D | 4,448,673,300 |
| 1993 | 5,684,705,000 |
| 1993-D | 6,426,650,571 |
| 1994 | 6,500,850,000 |
| Issue | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1994-D | 7,131,765,000 |
| 1995 | 6,411,400,000 |
| 1995-D | 7,128,560,000 |
| 1996 | 6,612,465,000 |
| 1996-D | 6,510,795,000 |
| 1997 | 4,622,800,000 |
| 1997-D | 4,576,555,000 |
| 1998 | 5,032,155,000 |
| 1998-D | 5,225,353,500 |
| 1999 | 5,237,600,000 |
| 1999-D | 6,360,065,000 |
| 2000 | 5,503,200,000 |
| 2000-D | 8,774,220,000 |
| 2001 | 4,959,600,000 |
| 2001-D | 5,374,990,000 |
| 2002 | 3,260,800,000 |
| 2002-D | 4,028,055,000 |
| 2003 | 3,300,000,000 |
| 2003-D | 3,548,000,000 |
| 2004 | 3,379,600,000 |
| 2004-D | 3,456,400,000 |
| 2005 | 3,935,600,000 |
| 2005-D | 3,764,450,000 |
| 2006 | 4,290,000,000 |
| 2006-D | 3,944,000,000 |
| 2007 | 3,763,400,000 |
| 2007-D | 3,638,800,000 |
| 2008 | 2,596,000,000 |
| 2008-D | 2,849,600,000 |
View the 2009 Lincoln Cent Mintages for the four different designs issued to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s Bicentennial.
