1946 Penny Value: 1946-S/D, Doubled Dies and Prices by Grade

A circulated 1946 penny is worth about 5 to 10 cents as of October 2026, and a red MS65 about $18 to $24, according to the PCGS price guide. The variety that pays is the 1946-S/D over mint mark, FS-511, worth about $40 in VF and $150 in XF by the CopperCoins guide and about $500 in red MS65 by PCGS. A red 1946 Philadelphia cent in MS67 lists at about $1,000.

The 1946 cent closes the wartime chapter: it was the last year of the 95 percent copper, 5 percent zinc "shell case" alloy before tin went back into the mix in 1947. The coins look the same as any other wheat cent, and almost all are worth a few cents. The checks below find the exceptions.

Quick answer

• A worn 1946, 1946-D or 1946-S penny is worth about 5 to 10 cents, as of October 2026.
• Red MS65 coins are about $18-24 in the PCGS guide. A red 1946 Philadelphia cent jumps to about $1,000 in MS67.
• The 1946-S/D over mint mark (FS-511) is worth about $25-200 circulated and $500-1,200 in red MS65-MS66.
• The listed 1946 doubled die reverses are minor and catalogued at about $1-34, even in gem.
• Repunched 1946-D and 1946-S mint marks are common; most are worth a few dollars.

How do you value a 1946 penny, step by step?

Read the mint mark carefully, because that is where the money is for this year.

1. Confirm the wheat reverse. Two wheat stalks around ONE CENT. All 1946 cents have it.
2. Read the mint mark under the date. No letter is Philadelphia, which struck 991,655,000. D is Denver, 315,690,000. S is San Francisco, 198,100,000. These mintages are from PCGS CoinFacts.
3. Judge wear. Look at the cheekbone and jaw on the front and the lines in the wheat stalks on the back. Worn high points mean a circulated coin worth 5 to 10 cents.
4. Judge color. Red (RD), red-brown (RB) and brown (BN) are priced separately. Bright, even orange-red is what reaches the gem values.
5. On a 1946-S, magnify the S. On the S/D, CopperCoins describes the upper half of a D showing inside the lower half of the S. Look for a straight vertical edge and a curve that do not belong to the S.
6. On a 1946-D or 1946-S, look for repunching. A second, offset letter beside or inside the first is a repunched mint mark (RPM). CopperCoins lists 80 for Denver and 77 for San Francisco.
7. Check the reverse for doubling. On a doubled die reverse, the extra outline shows on E PLURIBUS UNUM, the dots and the wheat stalks.
8. Price from sold results for the same mint, variety, grade and color.

What is a 1946 penny worth?

Prices as of October 2026. Circulated values are from the CopperCoins series price guide (August/September 2026 edition); red uncirculated values are from the PCGS price guide.

The odd one out is the Philadelphia coin in top grades. CopperCoins notes that 1946 Philadelphia cents are very difficult to find above MS65, which is why PCGS lists an MS67 red at about $1,000 while the Denver and San Francisco coins sit at $225 to $275. San Francisco coins are the most expensive in rolls: CopperCoins puts a BU roll of 1946-S at over $200, more for original sealed rolls.

Did the penny go back to bronze in 1946?

No, not quite. The 1946 cent was still the wartime alloy of 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc, used from 1944 through 1946. In December 1943 the Treasury announced that this copper-zinc mix would replace the 1943 steel cent, according to the Lincoln cent history on Wikipedia. Tin came back into the alloy for 1947, and PCGS lists 1947 cents as 95 percent copper with tin and zinc.

So 1946 is the last of the "shell case" years, not the first year of the return to bronze. You cannot see the difference: both alloys look the same, and every one of these cents weighs 3.11 grams. The alloy carries no premium. If you are sorting a whole run of wartime cents, our 1945 penny value guide covers the shell case story, including the gray 1943 steel cents that came before.

What is the 1946-S/D penny worth?

The 1946-S/D over mint mark is worth about $25 in F12, $40 in VF20 and $150 in EF40 by the CopperCoins guide, and about $225 in MS60 and $500 in red MS65 by the PCGS guide. A red MS66 lists at about $1,200 and an MS66+ at about $3,250. Real sales match the top of that range: a PCGS MS66+ red sold for $3,173 at Legend Rare Coin Auctions in September 2019, and a PCGS MS67 brown brought $3,181 on eBay in January 2023, according to PCGS auction records.

It was made when a die was first punched with a D mint mark, then corrected with an S. The variety is listed as FS-511 in the Cherrypickers' Guide, as OMM-001 by CONECA and WOMM-001 by Wexler. CopperCoins describes it as a serif S with the upper half of a D showing inside the lower half of the S. CopperCoins shows the die in more than one stage, so the traces can look different from coin to coin; compare yours with several plate photos.

PCGS also lists a 1946-S "inverted mint mark" variety, FS-501, in brown, red-brown and red. Data is thin: the PCGS auction record for a brown coin is $179 for an MS62 on eBay in July 2019. If you think you have one, a variety specialist is the right first stop.

Is there a 1946 doubled die reverse?

Yes, several, all minor. CopperCoins catalogs three doubled die reverses each for Philadelphia and Denver and five for San Francisco. The best known Philadelphia die, listed as DDR-001 by CONECA and WDDR-001 by Wexler, shows a slightly distorted counterclockwise spread in the motto and lists at $2 in F12 to $15.50 in gem. Another shows moderate to strong extra thickness on the dots, motto and wheat stalks, at the same values. A Denver die with extra thickness on the motto and upper wheat stalks lists at $1 in F12 to $34 in gem, and a San Francisco die with a moderate spread in the left wheat stalk and E PLURI lists at $3 to $18.

There is no FS-numbered 1946 doubled die reverse in the PCGS variety listings, and none of these is worth more than a few tens of dollars even uncirculated. CopperCoins also lists 11 doubled die obverses for Philadelphia and 9 each for Denver and San Francisco, mostly minor thickening or doubled eyelids at a few dollars. Our error coins worth money guide explains how to tell this hub doubling from worthless machine doubling.

What grade and color factors move a 1946 penny's price?

The brown MS65 figures come from the CopperCoins guide ($5.40 to $6). For how MS65, MS66 and MS67 differ in practice, see the coin grading scale.

A worked example

Say you find a 1946-S in a roll. It has light wear on the cheek and wheat lines, so it is around XF. Under a 10x loupe the S has a short straight line and a small curve inside its lower loop, as if another letter were underneath.

That matches the description of the 1946-S/D. If PCGS or NGC confirm it, an XF coin is worth about $150 by the CopperCoins guide, perhaps less to a dealer buying raw. The next step is to compare the mint mark with the plate photos on CopperCoins or PCGS CoinFacts. If it matches, send it in for attribution, since the premium only exists once the variety is confirmed. If the extra line turns out to be a scratch, a die chip or a minor repunching of the S, the coin is worth 5 to 10 cents, or a couple of dollars for a listed RPM.

Common mistakes

• Calling every odd S an S/D. Repunched S/S mint marks and die chips are far more common; compare with plate photos.
• Believing 1946 was a new bronze year. The 1946 cent is the last copper-zinc year; tin returned in 1947.
• Calling machine doubling a doubled die. Flat, shelf-like doubling is common and adds nothing.
• Pricing a red-brown coin as red. The color label can double or triple a gem's value.
• Cleaning the coin. It removes the original color.
• Paying a premium for a minor DDR. Listed 1946 reverse doubled dies are worth a few dollars.

How WorthPic reads 1946 penny photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of both sides it reads the date and mint mark, confirms the wheat reverse, judges wear and estimates color. On a 1946-S it looks for the traces of a D inside the S and for repunching, and on both sides it looks for the raised second image of hub doubling, separating it from flat machine doubling where the photo allows. It then gives an honest US dollar value range with a most likely figure, explains what drives it, and says which close-up would settle any doubt. A mint mark is tiny, so a blurry photo cannot confirm the S/D, and it cannot judge an MS67 through a phone camera. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• Both sides straight on, in even daylight.
• The mint mark as close as your camera will focus, ideally through a loupe.
• The date and the area around the mint mark.
• E PLURIBUS UNUM and the top of the wheat stalks close up.
• The cheek at a slight angle to show wear.

When to get it looked at in person

A worn 1946 needs no expert; dealers buy wheat cents by the roll or by the pound. If you think you have a 1946-S/D, show it to a dealer who handles Lincoln varieties or a member of a variety club such as CONECA, then send it to PCGS or NGC for attribution. For minor doubled dies and RPMs, a specialist can confirm the die, but grading will usually cost more than the coin is worth. A spotless, fully red 1946 Philadelphia cent that could reach MS67 is the one normal coin this year that can justify grading. For the rest of the jar, see what pennies are worth money and wheat penny value.

Sources

• PCGS CoinFacts: 1946-S/D OMM FS-511, RD: red price guide MS60 to MS66+ and the $3,173 MS66+ sale.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1946, RD: Philadelphia mintage and red price guide including MS67 and MS67+.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1946-D, RD: Denver price guide and the $3,120 MS67+ red sale.
• CopperCoins: 1946-S OMM-001 (FS-511): diagnostics, cross references and circulated values for the S/D.
• CopperCoins: 1946 date guide: circulated values from the August/September 2026 guide, roll notes, mint mark styles and the count of catalogued varieties.
• Wikipedia: Lincoln cent: the 1943 announcement of the copper-zinc alloy that replaced steel.