What is the value of a 1948 wheat penny?

The 1948 pennies are part of wheat pennies that were made in 1909 to celebrate the birthday of the 16th USA president. The 1948 wheat pennies are important like other pennies in USA history. These pennies have two wheat stalks on the back side, so they are known as wheat pennies. Here we will cover details for finding the value of 1948 wheat pennies. Let’s get started with how much a 1948 wheat penny is worth.

1948 Wheat Penny Value Chart

Mint mark	Good	Fine	Extremely Fine	Uncirculated	MS 64	MS 65+	MS 66+	MS 67+
1948 No-mint mark Wheat Penny Value	$0.06	$0.06	$0.10	$13.00	$19	$40	$380	$5,000
1948- D Wheat Penny Value	$0.06	$0.06	$0.10	$33.00	$13	$31	$127	$1,700
1948-S Wheat Penny Value	$0.06	$0.06	$0.10	$26	$13	$23	$52	$1,050

1948 No-mint mark Wheat Penny Value

The Philadelphia mint made about 317,570,000 pennies in 1948, and their larger mint made these coins easy to access. Low-grade coins exist in larger numbers and have a value not more than their face value. The MS65 and MS67 grades are rare and high-value coins.

Circulated conditions 1948 wheat pennies are about five cents to 35 cents.

Uncirculated conditions in 1948 without a mint mark wheat penny are about 13 dollars.

In 2014, NG0-grade coins sold for 2350 dollars.

In 2012, a 1948 P penny with red color and MS67 grade sold for 10,350 dollars.

The 1948 MS 67 red-brown penny, not mint-marked, sold for $1,399 in 2021.

1948 D penny MS67 grade red color sold for 10,350 dollars in 2012.

MS67+ Red color 1948 penny without mint mark sold for $5,000 in 2024.

1948-D Wheat Penny Value

In 1948, the Denver mint made 172 million wheat pennies with the D mint mark. These coins come with not quality strikes since old dies are used, and some good-condition coins also have marks on them.

The 1948 D pennies, like P-minted coins, also have high mintage, which makes these coins low value in lower grades, and MS64 and other grades are high-value and rare coins.

Circulated conditions 1948 D wheat pennies are about five cents to 25 dollars.

Uncirculated condition coins are high value, like the MS67+ grade 1948 D penny sold in 2022 for 3000 dollars.

In 2022, an S 67+ 1948 D penny with a red-brown color sold for $3,000.

In 2024, an MS 67+ 1948 D penny sold for 1700 dollars.

1948-S Wheat Penny Value

The San Francisco mint made 81,735,000 wheat pennies in 1948 with an S mint mark. These pennies can easily be found, like other minted coins, since they have high value.

The pennies come with poor quality since used or older dies are used for minting these coins, and some coins minted with new dies come in good condition and have complete design features.

Circulated conditions 1948 S pennies are about five cents to 35 cents. Uncirculated conditions of 1948 S pennies with MS67 grades can be about 30 dollars.

In 2020, a 1948 brown MS66 grade penny sold for 60 dollars, and a red-brown penny, 1948 MS66 red-brown, sold for 180 dollars.
MS 67+ red 1948 S penny sold for 1998 dollars in 2014. In 2024 these coins sold for 1050 dollars.

1948 Wheat Penny Features

Obverse of 1948 Wheat Penny

The front side of the 1948 penny comes with a photo of President Lincoln. The 1948 Lincoln wheat penny, called the Lincoln penny since it has a photo of the president, The president’s photo is facing right.

The motto IN GOD WE TRUST is also written there, and the word LIBERTY is written on this side. The minting date, 1948, can be seen there.

The Reverse of the 1948 Wheat Penny

The back side of these coins comes with two wheat stalks and the country name UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the denomination ONE CENT also written on this side.

The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, meaning out of many, is on this side.

Some other features of 1948 pennies are.

These pennies are made with the use of 95 percent copper, and other compositions are five percent zinc and tin.
Its diameter is 19.05 mm, and its weight is 3.11 grams.
Coins are plain-edged and do not have reeds.
It comes with a red, red-brown, and brown color combination.

History of 1948 Wheat penny

The 1948 pennies were part of Lincoln pennies made in 1909 to celebrate the president’s birthday. The three mints, Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, made pennies for the first time in 1909. Before that, there was no personal photo added to coins, but the first time it was added was to honor President Lincoln. President Roosevelt asked to design the penny coins for Victor David Brenner.

Before accepting the final design of coins, there were many designs made. The front side design of pennies with the president’s photo was used for a longer time, and the reverse design was used until 1959 and added the Lincoln Memorial. The 1948 pennies are part of the first-made penny design and have two wheat stalks on the back side.

1948 Wheat Penny Grading

Grades are main component for finding the value of coins the 1948 coins come with low or poor grades to higher grades. The low quality grade is 1 and high quality grade is 60 to 70 in mint states.

number	Grade
1	Basal State-1
2	Fair
3	Very Fair
4, 5, 2006	Good
7, 8, 10	Very Good
12, 15	Fine
20, 30	Very Fine
40	Extremely Fine
50	About Uncirculated
60 to 70	Mint State

1948 Wheat Penny Errors

Doubled Die Error

The double die error on 1948 pennies comes during design shifting that occurs through die striking, and sometimes die strikes many times, and double effects of design become. That error is called the 1948 penny double die error. In this error doubling effect, one can see words and letters on coins, also in the minting date.

The value of double die error for 1948 pennies can be about 15 dollars.

The front side double die error is called the 1948 DDO error that can be seen on the president’s eye and can be sold for 25 dollars with an MS65 grade in red color.

Off-Center Strike Error

The off-center error occurs at the time when the design is not completely printed on coins and is off-center from the design center. In some part of the design, not added on the coin, the 1948 penny is off-center as a result of when the planchet is not accurately put between dies during coin striking. The coins with 10 to 20 percent are low cost, and 50 percent off-center error with a clear mint mark and date is high value. The coins with 50 percent off-center error and clear details can be sold for 200 dollars.

Broadstruck Error

In coin minting machines, rims are made, but collars are molded that make broadstruck errors on coins. This error comes with a flattened rim during striking and makes the 1948 penny broadstruck error. The 1948 D penny MS65 red brown sold for 90 dollars.

RPM Error

Older coins minted manually and marks are applied in a manual process, so some coins come with mint marks, double marks, or marks on marks that make the 1948 penny repunched mint mark error. These coins minted two or three times for clear mark minting. The coins with RPM sold for 70 dollars with red color combinations.

Lamination Error

The 1946 penny with the lamination error does not have upper layers and comes with small cracks. This error coin is chipped or cracked. Lamination errors are the result of any external materials coming in contact with the blank planchet. The external materials make a crack of mark on coins.

FAQs

Is the 1948 wheat penny rare?

More than 500 million pennies were made in 1948, and these are larger pennies. Some pennies are in circulation and not properly struck. The low-grade 1948 wheat pennies are not rare, and 1948 mint state MS65 or higher grades are rare coins.