1956 Penny Value: 1956 and 1956-D Wheat Cents and Top Grades

A circulated 1956 or 1956-D wheat penny is worth about 5 cents as of October 2026, and a typical uncirculated one about $1. The money is only at the very top: PCGS's auction records show a 1956 in MS67+ red sold for $57,600 at Heritage in December 2022, and a 1956-D in the same grade sold for $18,000 at the same sale. Coins like that are a tiny fraction of the more than 1.5 billion that were made.

If you have seen "1956 doubled die" or "1956-D/S" in an online listing, the picture is calmer than it sounds. This guide explains what the real varieties are, what a repunched mint mark looks like, and how to tell whether a coin from a jar has any chance of being worth more than a nickel.

Quick answer

• A worn 1956 (no mint mark) or 1956-D wheat penny is worth about 5 cents, as of October 2026.
• A typical uncirculated coin is worth about $1.
• Philadelphia struck 420,745,000 cents in 1956 and Denver 1,098,201,100, per the Wikipedia mintage table. San Francisco made none.
• PCGS's auction records list $57,600 for a 1956 MS67+ red and $18,000 for a 1956-D MS67+ red, both at Heritage in December 2022.
• The listed varieties are minor: 1956-D repunched mint marks (RPMs, including FS-501, FS-502 and FS-508 at PCGS) and a proof-only doubled die obverse, FS-101.

How do you value a 1956 penny, step by step?

Read the mint mark, look closely at the D if there is one, judge wear and color, then decide whether grading makes sense.

1. Confirm it is a wheat cent. Turn it over. Two wheat ears on either side of ONE CENT is the reverse used from 1909 to 1958. The Lincoln Memorial reverse had not started yet.
2. Read the mint mark. It is under the date on the front. No letter means Philadelphia, D means Denver. There is no 1956-S: the last San Francisco cent before 1968 was the 1955-S, so a 1956 cent with an S does not exist.
3. Look at the D under a loupe. On a 1956-D, check for a second D showing beside, above or below the main one. That is a repunched mint mark. The PCGS listings for this year include three of them, FS-501, FS-502 and FS-508.
4. Judge wear. Flat, smooth high points on Lincoln's cheekbone and jaw and in the lines of the wheat ears mean circulated. A circulated 1956 is worth about 5 cents.
5. Judge color. Uncirculated cents are graded red, red-brown or brown. Even orange-red luster with no spots carries the gem prices.
6. Check for a mirror finish. A deep, glassy proof was sold in Mint sets. Philadelphia made 669,384 proof cents in 1956, per Wikipedia.
7. Rule out damage and cleaning. A cleaned coin looks bright but dull and hairlined. It sells for little above a circulated one.
8. Price from sold results for the same mint, grade and color. A raw coin is not priced like a PCGS MS67+ red.

What is a 1956 penny worth?

Prices as of October 2026, from PCGS CoinFacts auction records and common roll listings. Circulated coins of both mints are worth about 5 cents.

PCGS's commentary on the 1956-D, by Jaime Hernandez, says it is common in MS66 or lower, harder to find in MS66+, scarce in MS67 and almost unheard of above that. That is why the top two prices look so different from the rest of the table: they are for the best few coins in the world, and a grading fee is not worth paying for anything short of that standard.

What is the 1956-D/S, and is there a 1956 doubled die?

There is no 1956-D/S in the PCGS listings. What collectors usually mean is the 1956-D/D repunched mint mark, where the Denver D was punched into the die twice, slightly offset. The second D shows as a ghost edge beside the main letter. PCGS lists FS-501, FS-502 and FS-508 for 1956-D, and the Lincoln Cent Resource shows several more RPM numbers. These are specialist varieties, valued by collectors of the series, not by the average buyer.

As for doubled dies, Greysheet's price guide lists a 1956 doubled die obverse, FS-101, as a proof variety, with retail values of about $180 in PR66 red and $285 in PR67 red. Its notes add that 1956 proofs are common but hard to find above PR67 or with strong cameo contrast. In other words there is no widely traded doubled die among the regular business strikes of 1956. Compare that with the 1955, covered in our 1955 penny guide, where the doubled die is among the most famous varieties in American coinage. If your 1956 appears to have doubled lettering, it is almost certainly machine doubling, which adds no value.

What does a repunched mint mark look like?

It looks like a D with a thin second D just touching it. To check, hold the coin so a single light grazes the mint mark and use a 10x loupe. A real RPM shows a distinct shape of a second letter, with a straight edge or a corner sticking out of the main D. A scratch, a tiny bit of metal flow or a blob of dirt is not an RPM.

The Lincoln Cent Resource keeps a list of numbered RPM varieties and describes the position of each. If you think you have a 1956-D/D, match it against those pages before getting excited, then expect a modest premium over a normal coin. It is the kind of find that is satisfying for collectors, not a windfall.

Why is the top-grade 1956 so valuable?

Because very few cents from this era survive flawless. A cent has to have full, unbroken red luster, a sharp strike and no spots or marks to reach MS67+ red, and most of the red coins from 1956 were handled, stored in rolls and spotted over time. The $57,600 result is one coin at one sale, and registry set collectors compete for the best. It says little about the other 99.99 percent.

For comparison, the 1957 Philadelphia top result is $20,400, covered in our 1957 penny guide, and the 1958 is covered in the 1958 penny guide. All show the same pattern: pennies for most, thousands for a handful.

Is it worth grading a 1956 penny?

Almost never. Grading fees at PCGS and NGC are charged per coin, and with shipping they cost more than the coin is worth below MS67 red. The math only works if you honestly believe the coin has no marks at all under a 5x loupe, with blazing red color. If you have a variety such as a clear RPM, the fee can be worth it only if the coin is also in a high grade. Our coin grading scale guide explains what separates the top mint state grades.

A worked example

Say you find a bright, unworn 1956-D in a jar of wheat cents. You look at the D under a loupe and see a faint second shape touching its left edge. The cheek has no wear, but there are a few brown flecks on the reverse.

The coin is a Denver cent, so the base value is about $1 in that condition. The second shape might be a repunched mint mark, so compare it with the FS-501, FS-502 and FS-508 photos on the Lincoln Cent Resource and PCGS pages. If it matches, the coin is a minor variety and worth perhaps a few dollars more than an ordinary one, with the flecks holding it to a lower grade. It is a fun keeper, not a coin to grade. If it does not match, it is an ordinary 1956-D, worth about $1.

Where do 1956 pennies sell best?

Circulated coins sell best in bulk. Coin shops buy wheat cents by the roll or the pound at a few cents each, and uncirculated rolls trade among collectors. Top-grade coins in PCGS or NGC holders sell best through auction houses that handle Lincoln cents. For the whole run of wheat cents and the key dates, see wheat penny value.

Common mistakes

• Expecting a rare coin because the date is 1956. More than 1.5 billion were made between the two mints.
• Searching for a 1956-S. San Francisco made no cents in 1956.
• Calling machine doubling a doubled die. Flat, shelf-like doubling is common and worth nothing extra.
• Pricing from the MS67+ column. The $57,600 and $18,000 figures are for single coins at one sale.
• Treating any ghost image beside a D as an RPM. Dirt, scratches and die wear are far more common than repunched mint marks.
• Cleaning the coin. It strips the original color that decides every uncirculated price; see should you clean old coins.

How WorthPic reads 1956 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 on the cheek and the wheat lines, and estimates color. It looks at the mint mark for a second D and at the lettering for doubling, and tells you plainly when a photo is not sharp enough to say. It then gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure, explains what drives it, and says which extra photo would settle any doubt. It cannot confirm a repunched mint mark by the number, cannot see hairlines or tiny spots that decide a red grade, and cannot judge an MS67 from a phone photo. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• The front and back straight on, in even daylight.
• The date and mint mark close up, filling the frame, with the light coming from the side.
• Lincoln's cheek and jaw at a slight angle, to show wear.
• The wheat ears on the back close up.
• For a bright coin, one photo that shows the true color without glare.
• Any odd area, such as a gap or ghost image, close up and from two angles.

When to get it looked at in person

A worn 1956 or 1956-D needs no expert, and a dealer will usually buy wheat cents by the roll or the pound. For a coin you believe is a top-grade red gem, PCGS or NGC grading is the only way to reach the prices in the table, and it pays only for a truly spotless coin. If you think you have a repunched mint mark, show it to an experienced coin dealer or a member of a local coin club, who can compare it with the numbered varieties. For the rest of a jar, start with what pennies are worth money and the guide to error coins worth money.

Sources

• PCGS CoinFacts: 1956 Lincoln Cent, Red: Philadelphia mintage and the $57,600 Heritage record.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1956-D Lincoln Cent, Red: Denver mintage, the $18,000 Heritage record, the RPM listings and the grade commentary.
• Wikipedia: Lincoln cent mintage figures: business strike and proof mintages for 1956.
• Lincoln Cent Resource: Repunched mint marks: numbered 1956-D/D RPM listings.
• Greysheet: 1956 Doubled Die Obverse FS-101, proof: the proof-only doubled die and the note on cameo.