1960 Penny Value: Small Date vs Large Date and the 1960-D/D

A 1960 large date penny, the common kind, is worth face value to a few cents as of October 2026. The scarcer Philadelphia 1960 small date sells for under a dollar worn, about $5 to $10 uncirculated and $160 to $340 in MS67 red. The 1960-D small date over large date variety, with a doubled D, has sold for about $170 to $700 in MS63 to MS66.

The date size is the first thing to check, and it takes ten seconds once you know the tells. In 1960 the Mint changed the digits partway through the year, which produced two date styles at both mints, a famous collecting boom and a handful of die varieties.

Quick answer

• A circulated 1960 or 1960-D large date penny is worth one to a few cents, as of October 2026.
• A Philadelphia 1960 small date is worth roughly 15 cents to $1 worn, about $5-10 uncirculated on eBay and $160-340 in MS67 red.
• The 1960-D small date is common, worth a few dollars up to MS65 and about $25-60 in MS66 red; only MS67 red coins bring a few hundred.
• The 1960-D/D small over large date (FS-101) brought $192 in MS64 at Heritage in 2023 and $288 in MS65 at Stack's Bowers in 2024.
• In proof sets, small date proofs run about double the large date, and two overdate proofs bring $160 and up.

How do you tell a 1960 small date from a large date?

Look at three digits: the 1, the 6 and the 0. The Lincoln Cent Resource lists the tells used by most variety collectors:

1. The top of the 1. On the small date, the top of the 1 is level with the top of the 9. On the large date, the 1 sits lower than the 9.
2. The tail of the 6. On the large date, the 6 has a much longer tail curling over the top. On the small date, the tail is short and tight.
3. The 0. CoinWeek describes the small date 0 as small, and the large date 0 as large and round. Side by side, the small date 0 looks noticeably smaller and narrower than its neighbors.
4. The overall look. CoinWeek sums up the small date as thick, stocky digits, and the large date as thinner digits with wider swoops on the 9 and 6.

The quickest method is to compare. Find a 1961 or any later cent with a normal date and lay it next to your 1960. If your 1960 digits look short and chunky with a little 0, you likely have a small date.

How do you value a 1960 penny, step by step?

1. Read the mint mark. It sits under the date. No letter means Philadelphia; D means Denver. Proofs from proof sets have no mint mark in 1960 and show mirror fields.
2. Decide small or large date with the three tells above.
3. If it is a 1960-D, look at the D. Under a loupe, check for a second D peeking out above and slightly to the left of the main one, and for a doubled look to the date. That combination is the 1960-D/D small over large date variety.
4. Judge wear. Check Lincoln's cheek and jaw, and the steps and columns of the Memorial on the back. Any flatness means circulated.
5. Judge color on uncirculated coins. The 1960 cent is bronze, 95 percent copper, and is graded red, red-brown or brown. The prices that matter are for bright red coins.
6. Check proofs separately. A 1960 proof set holds both date styles. Check the cent in every set.
7. Price from sold results for the same mint, date style, grade and color.

What is a 1960 penny worth?

Prices as of October 2026, from eBay sold listings and Heritage, DLRC and Stack's Bowers results compiled by CoinValueChecker, plus CoinWeek for proofs.

The 1960-D/D record helps explain why condition matters so much: a red MS66 example brought $4,025 at Heritage in 2008, far above the $705 paid for an MS66 in 2015. Treat old records like that one as outliers, not today's value. The same pattern holds for ordinary dates: in MS67 red even the common large date brings a few hundred dollars, because so few coins reach that grade, while one grade lower is worth tens of dollars.

Why is the 1960 small date rarer?

Because Philadelphia struck small dates for only a short time. CoinWeek explains that the Mint began 1960 with the small date style, then switched to a larger date because it feared the small 0 would fill and clog the dies. The change came early in the year. In January, Philadelphia struck only 2,075,000 cents, while Denver struck 73,450,000 in January and 168,790,000 more in February. Wikipedia puts the Philadelphia small date at roughly two million coins and the Denver small date at about 500 million.

That is why only the Philadelphia small date carries a premium. The 1960-D small date is a common coin, as the Lincoln Cent Resource states plainly.

The variety caused a frenzy. Wikipedia reports that sealed $50 bags of 1960 cents sold for as much as $12,000 before the bubble burst in 1964. Many of those bags were kept, which is why uncirculated Philadelphia small dates are still easy to buy today for a few dollars.

What is the 1960-D D over D penny?

It is a Denver cent struck from a die that received both a small date hub and a large date hub, and its mint mark was punched twice. The Lincoln Cent Resource calls it one of the most interesting coins in the series: both a doubled die and a repunched mint mark, listed as FS-101 in the Cherrypickers' Guide. The doubling is easiest to see on the date, and the extra D sits north and slightly west of the main one. Early die states are preferred; late ones show die scratches under IN GOD.

Be careful with terms. There are many other 1960-D cents with repunched mint marks alone, catalogued as RPM numbers. These are large date coins without the date doubling, and they sell for much less: graded RPM examples on eBay brought about $15 to $38 in mid-2026. The coin that brings $170 to $700 has the small over large date, not just a doubled D.

Which 1960 proof pennies are worth money?

Check the cent in every 1960 proof set. CoinWeek reports that the 1,691,602 proof sets of 1960 included small date cents in roughly 12 percent of them, those struck in January and February, and that small date proofs trade for about double the large date. A PCGS PR68 Cameo small date sold for $228 at Heritage in October 2020.

Two rarer proofs were struck from dies that received both hubs. On the small date over large date, CoinWeek describes a notch to the left of the 1, small curved traces of a 9 and 6 over those digits, and a small donut-shaped 0 over the larger 0. On the large date over small date, LIBERTY looks misaligned, especially BERTY, and the large 0 shows the small 0 inside it. Both trade from about $160 in PR65, and attractive Cameo examples are rare. Our guide to proof sets covers the rest of the set.

A worked example

Say you have a coffee can of 1960s cents and pull out a lightly worn 1960 with no mint mark. Next to a 1961, the digits look shorter and chunkier, the top of the 1 is level with the top of the 9, and the 0 is noticeably small. That is a Philadelphia small date. Worn, it is worth roughly 15 cents to $1, a nice find but not a windfall.

Then you find a bright 1960-D with a doubled-looking date and a faint second D poking out above the main one. That could be the D over D. If it is red and uncirculated, it is worth a variety specialist's look and then attribution by PCGS or NGC, because an MS64 has sold for about $190. If it only shows a doubled D and a normal large date, it is a common repunched mint mark worth a few dollars at most.

Common mistakes

• Calling every 1960 small date rare. Only the Philadelphia small date carries a premium; the 1960-D small date is common.
• Judging the date from one digit. Use all three tells, and compare with a later cent.
• Mixing up an RPM with the D over D. A doubled D alone on a large date is a minor variety.
• Pricing a worn coin from the MS67 column. Most of the value sits in top red grades.
• Missing the proofs. The small date and overdate proofs are found in old sets, not in change.
• Cleaning the coin. It ruins the red color that sets every uncirculated price; see should you clean old coins.

How WorthPic reads 1960 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 mint mark, compares the 1, 6 and 0 to decide small or large date, and looks under the date for a second D and a doubled date on Denver coins. It judges wear and color and notes whether a coin looks like a proof. It then gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure and says which close-up would settle the date style or the variety. It cannot confirm a D over D from a blurry photo and cannot assign a grade like MS67. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• The front straight on, with the date sharp.
• The date close up, filling the frame, in even light.
• The mint mark close up from straight on and from a slight angle.
• The back straight on, for wear on the Memorial.
• Proofs through the holder, with the set packaging visible.

When to get it looked at in person

A worn 1960 small date or any large date needs no expert. A coin club or local dealer can confirm a small date in seconds. For a red uncirculated Philadelphia small date that looks flawless, a 1960-D/D small over large date, or an overdate proof, attribution and grading by PCGS or NGC is what buyers pay for. For other dates in the jar, see what pennies are worth money, and for how doubling happens, our guide to error coins worth money.

Sources

• CoinWeek: 1960 Lincoln cent overdate varieties in proof: monthly mintage figures, date style descriptions, the proof small date share and proof overdate values.
• Lincoln Cent Resource: 1960 P and D small dates: the three date tells and the rarity of the Philadelphia small date.
• Lincoln Cent Resource: 1960 D/D doubled die obverse: the FS-101 variety, where the doubling shows and where the extra D sits.
• CoinValueChecker: 1960 penny value: eBay sold prices and compiled Heritage, DLRC and Stack's Bowers results.
• Wikipedia: Lincoln cent: the 1960 date change, the small date mintage estimates and the bag prices of the 1960s boom.