1948 Wheat Penny Coin Value: How Much Is It Worth?

Do you have a 1948 wheat penny and are curious about how much it is worth?

The Lincoln wheat pennies are popular among collectors on most dates, including 1948. Your coin might be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars if you know what to look for.

If you want to know the 1948 wheat penny value, you’ve come to the right place. I will take you through the fascinating history of this coin, its unique features, and error coins that could be worth good money.

Let’s get started!

1948 Wheat Penny Value Chart
Mint mark	Good	Fine	Extremely Fine	Uncirculated
1948 No-mint mark Wheat Penny Value	$0.05	$0.05	$0.10	$12.50
1948- D Wheat Penny Value	$0.05	$0.05	$0.10	$32.50
1948-S Wheat Penny Value	$0.05	$0.05	$0.10	$25

1948 Wheat Penny Value Guides

In this section, we’ll dive deep and find out just what a 1948 Wheat Penny is worth. The value of your coin will depend on factors such as the condition, grading, and mintage.

There are three varieties of the 1948 wheat penny. These are:

• 1948-No Mint mark Wheat Penny
• 1948-S Wheat Penny
• 1948-D Wheat Penny

Let’s look at each coin and how much it is worth.

1948 No-mint mark Wheat Penny  Value

In 1948, the Philadelphia mint struck many wheat pennies, amounting to 317,570,000. The high mintage makes the data easily accessible.

That said, many coins do not guarantee quality, as is the case with the 1948-P pennies. Lower-grade pennies are plentiful, but these are only slightly more than face value.

Higher grades of the 1948-P are rare, with only a few examples available in MS65 and above. In MS67 and above, the date is extremely rare.

In circulated condition, this coin is worth between $0.05 and $0.35. In uncirculated condition, you can get your hands on a 1948 no-mintmark wheatie for about $12.50.

According to the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), the finest example of a 1948-P penny is a red one graded MS67 and sold for $10,350 in 2012.

1948-S Wheat Penny Value

The San Francisco mint struck significantly fewer Wheat pennies in 1948 than those minted in Philadelphia. Still, at 81,735,000, 1948 Wheaties with an S mintmark are plentiful due to the high mintage.

Wheat pennies from the San Francisco mint are generally of poor quality as mint workers overused dies until they were completely worn out.

The workers would then polish the dies, and the first few strikes would have excellent luster, and design features, only for the worn-out dies to go out of shape and make poor-quality strikes over again.

The coin is readily available in the circulated condition in lower grades and rare in higher grades with the potential to fetch premium prices.

Circulated 1948-S Wheaties are worth between $0.05 and $0.35. In uncirculated condition, a Wheat penny graded MS67 can fetch up to $25.

The most expensive Red 1948-S Wheat penny was graded MS67 and sold for $1,998 in 2014.

1948-D Wheat Penny Value

Wheat pennies minted at the Denver facility have a mintmark D etched on the obverse. Many Wheaties amounting to 317,570,000 were minted in 1948, making these coins easily available as most were released into circulation.

In the 1940s, the Denver mint produced high-quality coins, but this quality was noticeably absent in 1948-D wheat pennies. Most of these coins display a flat strike, spotting, and bag marks, lowering the coin’s grade.

All in all, 1948-D Wheaties are plentiful in lower grades and worth slightly more than face value. Expect to pay between $0.05 and $0.35 for a coin in circulated condition.

MS66 to MS68 are rare in uncirculated conditions, but the coins are a bit more accessible, with several examples in MS60 to MS65. You’ll pay up to $12.50 for an uncirculated 1948-D Wheatie.

The finest known of these coins was graded MS67 and sold for 3,000 as recently as 2022.

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1948 Wheat Penny Errors

The 1948 Wheat penny was produced in large quantities. The high mintage also affected the quality of the coins, with many needing more luster and strong design lines every collector is after.

Generally, an ordinary 1948 wheat penny will earn you little. Its value is slightly higher than face value but don’t expect premium prices.

That said, the value of your coin can increase significantly if it has an unusual mint-related error.

Let’s look at the common errors in 1948 Lincoln Wheat pennies:

1948 Wheat Penny Doubled Die Error

A die is used to transfer the design onto the coin. A hub must be made first to transfer the design to the die and then onto the coin or blank planchet.

To fully transfer the design, the hub must strike the die multiple times to capture all the design elements. Sometimes, in striking, the hub strikes the die at a slightly different angle, so the design appears twice, thrice or more.

When the die transfers the design onto a blank coin, you will notice a visible doubling around some design elements, such as the date, lettering, or images.

The doubled die error is quite common in the Lincoln Wheat penny series, and the 1948 Wheaties are no exception.

Depending on the clarity of the doubling, a 1948 Wheat penny doubled die error is worth between $10 and $14.

1948 Wheat Penny Off-Center Strike Error

The Off-Center strike is another common error in the Lincoln penny series. This error occurs when part of a coin’s design is struck off the center of a blank planchet, resulting in the coin missing part of the design, such as the ridges on the rim, the portrait at the center, or the lettering.

The off-center error happens when the blank planchet is improperly placed between dies so that when the coin is struck, the design is partially etched on the planchet. An important determinant of this error is whether part of the design is missing.

The percentage of the missing design usually has a bearing on the coin’s value. A coin that has lost 20% to 50% of the design is more valuable than one that has lost 1% or 95%. One percent is too little of a design loss to have any significance on the coin’s value, while 95% is too much of a loss.

An off-center strike error with a 10% to 50% loss on a 1948 Wheat penny can fetch between $100 and $200.

1948 Wheat Penny Repunched Mintmark Error

A repunched mint mark error occurs when the punch used to imprint the mintmark into the die creates at least two overlapping impressions, making the mint mark appear like it has some doubling.

The second mintmark that appears atop the original mintmark is usually smaller and subtler.

Actions such as failing to position the letter punch accurately over the first strike or attempting to correct the first mintmark punch can result in a repunched mintmark variety.

The value of repunched mintmark error will depend on the clarity. Visible doubling of the mintmark attracts a high value than a barely visible error.

A 1948 Wheat penny with a repunched mintmark error is worth about $20.

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History of the 1948 Wheat Penny

The 1948 wheat belongs to the popular Lincoln wheat penny coin series and has a fascinating story. The wheat penny was first minted in 1909 at all three mint facilities—Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.

Historically, Americans found it inappropriate to use the image of a real person on a circulating coin, given the country’s demographical diversity. Based on a fictional character, Lady Liberty was the only ”person” placed on a coin.

President Roosevelt was ready to do away with tradition. Upon seeing President Lincoln’s bronze sculpture done by sculptor Victor David Brenner, he thought it would be a good idea to feature President Lincoln’s portrait on the new upcoming wall. This led to the inception of the U.S. Penny.

The U.S. Mint engraver Charles Barber agreed to have Victor David Brenner design the new Lincoln pennies. He had never designed a coin before, so he did several iterations before Barber accepted the final design.

The obverse design has remained unchanged for the longest time, making the Lincoln penny one of the most long-running coins in the world. The reverse has, however, changed severally over the years in addition to the coin’s metal composition.

From 1909 to 1981, the Mint used copper to strike Lincoln pennies but briefly changed to steel in 1943 due to the copper shortage around that time. But, as this was only temporary, the mint switched to using copper as the main metal used in producing coins, including those minted in 1948.

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How to Identify 1948 Wheat Penny?

Below, we shall look at the characteristics of the 1948 wheat penny. Knowing what to look for, for example, spotting an error, can help you figure out whether the error is significant enough to earn you good money.

The Obverse of The 1948 Wheat Penny

The obverse is the upside of a coin and is also known as the tails.

The 1948 Lincoln wheat dollar partially gets its name from the obverse design, which features a right-facing portrait of President Lincoln.

The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears at the top of the coin above the president’s head.

On the left field behind Lincoln’s profile is the word LIBERTY. The date, 1948, appears on the right field.

As mentioned, the obverse design on the Wheat pennies has remained the same since the first of these coins was struck in 1909.

The Reverse of the 1948 Wheat Penny

The reverse is the back side or tails of a coin. The wheat penny also derived its name from the reverse design which features wheat ears on the right and left edges of the coin.

The words ONE CENT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appear between the prominent wheat ears.

The moto: E PLURIBUS UNUM, appears at the top of the coin’s edge.

Other Features Of The 1948 Wheat Penny

Like others in the series, the 1948 wheat penny is pure copper. In particular, the coin contains 90% copper and 5% tin and zinc alloy.

It has a plain edge, weighs only 3.7 grams, and measures 1.9.00 millimetres in diameter.

Three facilities minted the 1948 wheat pennies. These are The Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. Coins minted in Philadelphia do not have a mintmark, but those from Denver and San Francisco have mintmarks placed o the coin’s obverse just below the date.

What is rare about the 1948 wheat penny?

More than 500 million Wheat pennies were struck in 1948, making this date Abundant on the rarity scale. Most of these coins were released into circulation and generally poorly struck. So, lower-grade 1948 Wheat pennies are not rare; what is rare is a 1948 Wheatie in mint state MS65 given that most of these coins are only available in lower grades.

How much is a 1948 Wheat penny worth with no mintmark

A 1948 wheat penny with no mintmark was struck in Philadelphia, where more than 300 million coins were produced and distributed into circulation. The high mintage and the fact that most of these coins were poorly struck and are of a lower significantly reduce the value of a 1948 Wheat penny. A no-mintmark 1948 Wheat penny is worth between $0.05 and $0.35

Are all 1948 pennies valuable?

1948 Lincoln pennies are worth more than face value. Only in higher grades starting at MS66, does the coin’s value increase, occasionally fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars.