Lincoln Memorial Cent
Country of Origin: United States
Year of Issue: 1973
Denomination: One Cent
Composition: 95% copper, 5% zinc/tin
Brief Description
A standard US copper penny featuring Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial. The coin appears to have a gold-colored coating or has been chemically altered, as its color is unnaturally bright for a 1973 cent.
Historical Significance
The Lincoln Memorial design was introduced in 1959 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. The 1973 issue is a common circulation date from the mid-Memorial era.
Estimated Value
$0.01 - $0.05 in circulated condition. Rare 'S' business strikes in MS-65 or higher can fetch $10-$20. Plates or chemically altered coins have no numismatic premium.
Care Instructions
Store in a cool, dry place. Do not clean with chemicals, as this coin already shows signs of surface alteration. Handle by the edges to avoid fingerprints.
Mint Mark
S (San Francisco Mint)
Mintage & Rarity
317,177,295 minted at San Francisco. This is a common date for the era.
Weight & Diameter
3.11 grams / 19.05 mm
Edge
Plain
Apparent Grade
Very Fine to Extremely Fine (VF-EF); shows moderate wear on Lincoln's hair and the memorial steps, but the unnatural color indicates environmental damage or post-mint alteration ('reprocessing').
Obverse (Front)
Right-facing portrait of Abraham Lincoln, 'IN GOD WE TRUST' above, 'LIBERTY' to the left, and '1973 S' to the right. Original design by Victor David Brenner.
Reverse (Back)
View of the Lincoln Memorial; 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' and 'E PLURIBUS UNUM' above, 'ONE CENT' below. Design by Frank Gasparro.
What Drives This Coin's Value
Condition (grade), mint mark, and the presence of any unlisted errors. The 'gold' appearance usually indicates a high-school chemistry experiment or third-party plating, which typically decreases value to collectors.
Similar Coins
1973 and 1973-D cents are identical but lack the 'S' mint mark. It is often confused with rare gold errors, though no such errors are known for this year.
Authenticity & Counterfeit Red Flags
Check weight (should be ~3.1g). Look for 'plating' lines around the edges of letters. Real gold examples of these do not exist; any gold-colored penny from 1973 is almost certainly plated outside the mint.
Notable Varieties & Errors
Doubled Die Obverse (DDO) and Doubled Die Reverse (DDR) varieties exist but are minor for this year.
Created At: 2026-05-17T05:21:56.868557