1970 Penny Value: 1970-S Small Date, Large Date and Doubled Die

A 1970 or 1970-D penny from change is worth one cent as of October 2026, and a typical uncirculated one a few cents to a dollar. The two coins worth checking are both from San Francisco: the 1970-S small date, which PCGS lists at $24 in MS60 and $85 in MS65 red, with MS67 coins selling for $372-2,310, and the 1970-S large date doubled die obverse, FS-101, with about 50 known, which sold for $1,800-3,240 in PCGS MS64 red in 2023-2024 and $4,080-9,000 in MS65.

Nearly every "1970-S small date" offered online is a large date. The difference comes down to the height of the 7 and the strength of LIBERTY, and the figure below shows exactly where to look.

Quick answer

• 1970 (1,898,315,000 struck) and 1970-D (2,891,438,900): face value worn, a few cents to $1 uncirculated; MS67 1970 cents sell for about $140-180.
• 1970-S large date: face value worn; Greysheet lists red mint state at about $0.10-150 across grades.
• 1970-S small date: top of the 7 level with the 1, 9 and 0, weak LIBERTY. PCGS guide $24 MS60, $50 MS63, $85 MS65, $190 MS66, $750 MS67 red; recent MS65 sales $26-65.
• 1970-S doubled die obverse FS-101: strong doubling on LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. PCGS guide $450 in VF20 brown to $4,500 in MS65 red; sales $1,800-3,240 (MS64RD, 2023-2024), $4,080 (MS65RD, September 2023), $9,000 (MS65RD, March 2022).
• 1970-S proof small date: Greysheet lists about $50-480 red and up to $7,200 in top deep cameo.

How do you value a 1970 penny, step by step?

Read the mint mark, then on an S coin test the date for the small date and the mottoes for the doubled die.

1. Read the mint mark under the date. None is Philadelphia, D is Denver, S is San Francisco. Only the S coins carry any premium, and the S was struck in about 690 million business strikes plus 2,632,810 proofs.
2. Draw a line across the tops of the 9 and the 0. PCGS's Ron Guth gives the test: on the small date the top of the 7 reaches that line, so the date looks level. On the large date the 7 sits visibly lower than the other digits. Collectors call them the "level 7" and the "low 7".
3. Look at LIBERTY. Rick Snow's tip, quoted by PCGS: LIBERTY is weak on the small date, especially the tops of the E and Y, and sharp on the large date. Lincoln Cent Resource adds that the loop of the 9 bends sharply toward the 7 on the small date and is wider than on the large date.
4. Check LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST for doubling. The FS-101 doubled die shows a dramatic, separated second image on both mottoes and a lesser one on the date. PCGS says it is visible to the naked eye. It is a large date coin.
5. Rule out machine doubling and the minor doubled die. Flat, shelf-like doubling is strike doubling. FS-103, with slight doubling only on the 0 of the date, is a different die worth a small fraction of FS-101; Greysheet lists the weak-doubling coins at about $10-270 brown.
6. Judge wear and color. Flat cheek and jaw mean circulated. Red carries the price; brown small dates start at a few dollars.
7. Check for a proof. Mirror fields and square rims mean a proof from a 1970 set. Proofs also come in small and large date, told apart the same way.
8. Price from sold results for the exact variety, grade and color. A raw coin is not an MS67.

What is a 1970 penny worth?

Prices as of October 2026 from PCGS CoinFacts guide values and auction records, with Greysheet CPG ranges where PCGS gives none. All circulated 1970 cents except the doubled die are worth face value or a few cents.

The small date premium is modest because the variety is not rare. PCGS describes both 1970-S varieties as common and readily available in mint state, and has graded more than 1,100 small dates in MS65RD alone. The price is driven by album collectors who need one, and by the handful at the top: 17 coins in PCGS MS67RD and none finer.

What is the 1970-S small date and why does it exist?

It is a 1970-S cent struck from dies made with a slightly different date punch, giving a smaller, more compact date with a 7 that reaches the tops of the other digits. The Mint did not announce it and never explained it, and it appears only on San Francisco coins and proofs of 1970. Lincoln Cent Resource calls it one of the most confusing varieties for new collectors and reports seeing twenty to thirty eBay listings at a time that call a large date a small date.

The 7 test is the one most people use, but the site warns it can deceive on worn coins, and recommends the 9 as the surer tell: on the small date the loop of the 9 bends sharply toward the 7, while on the large date it points toward the top of the mint mark. Use both tests and the LIBERTY check together. The neighboring years have their own famous S varieties, covered in our 1969 penny value and 1972 penny value guides.

What is the 1970-S doubled die penny worth?

It depends on which doubled die and what color. The valuable one is FS-101 (formerly FS-029), a large date coin on which IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY show a dramatic doubled image and the date a weaker one. PCGS calls it the third scarcest major doubled die in the whole Lincoln series, scarcer than the famous 1955, and estimates about 50 known: fewer than 10 brown, about 15 red-brown, and the rest red, with at least 20 in MS64, about 10 in MS65 or higher and fewer than five in MS66.

PCGS guide values run from $100 in Good and $450 in VF20 for brown coins to $2,150 in MS63 red, $4,500 in MS65 and $22,500 in MS66. Actual sales have been softer than the guide in MS64, where PCGS red coins brought $1,800-3,240 at Heritage, Legend and David Lawrence in 2023-2024, and mixed in MS65, where coins sold for $9,000 in March 2022 and $4,080 in September 2023, with an MS65+ at $4,080 at Stack's Bowers in September 2025. The single MS66RD sale on record, $24,150, dates from 2001.

Do not confuse it with FS-103 (formerly FS-030.1), which shows only slight doubling on the 0 of the date and is worth a small fraction of FS-101. Greysheet lists the weak-doubling coins at about $10-270 in brown and $45-840 in red, against $650-2,420 brown and $1,600-10,200 red for the strong one. For how to tell a doubled die from machine doubling in general, see error coins worth money.

A worked example

Say you find a bright 1970-S in a roll. You lay a straight edge across the tops of the 9 and 0: the 7 falls clearly short of it, and LIBERTY is crisp. That is a large date, worth a cent or two unless it is a flawless red gem. Now you check the mottoes with a loupe. IN GOD WE TRUST shows a flat ledge on the right side of each letter, with the letters looking thin. That is machine doubling, not FS-101, whose second image is rounded, separated and obvious without a glass. Your coin is a nice common cent. If instead the 7 had reached the line and the E and Y of LIBERTY had faded into the field, you would have a small date worth about $24-85 as a red uncirculated coin, which is pleasant but not worth a grading fee below MS66.

Common mistakes

• Calling a large date a small date. Use the line across the 9 and 0, the bend of the 9 and the strength of LIBERTY together.
• Expecting a worn small date to be valuable. Brown circulated examples bring a few dollars; the money is in red MS66 and MS67.
• Confusing FS-103 with FS-101. Doubling only on the 0 of the date is the minor variety, worth a small fraction.
• Treating machine doubling as a doubled die. Flat, shelf-like doubling adds nothing.
• Paying grading fees for common coins. A 1970 or 1970-D below MS67 is not worth the fee.
• Cleaning the coin. It removes the red color that carries the price; see should you clean old coins.

How WorthPic reads 1970 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, judges wear on the cheek and the Memorial steps, and estimates color. On an S coin it compares the height of the 7 with the 9 and 0 and the strength of LIBERTY to sort small date from large date, and it looks at both mottoes for the separated second image of FS-101 as against flat machine doubling, where the photo allows. It then gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure, explains what drives it, and says which close-up would settle any doubt. It cannot grade MS66 from MS67 or confirm a doubled die for a buyer. 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 filling the frame, square to the lens so the digit heights can be compared.
• LIBERTY close up, with the light from one side.
• IN GOD WE TRUST close up on any coin that seems doubled.
• Lincoln's cheek at an angle, to show wear and luster.

When to get it looked at in person

Ordinary 1970 cents and large dates need no expert. A small date is worth a dealer's quick confirmation and, only if it is a spotless red gem, a PCGS or NGC submission. Any coin with strong, separated doubling on both mottoes should go to a dealer or variety specialist first and then to PCGS or NGC for FS-101 attribution, because every recent sale has been a slabbed coin. For the rest of a roll, start with what pennies are worth money and the coin grading scale.

Sources

• PCGS CoinFacts: 1970-S 1C Small Date, RD: the line test, the LIBERTY tip, guide values, populations and auction results.
• Lincoln Cent Resource: The 1970-S small date: the 7, the 9 and LIBERTY diagnostics and the warning about mislabeled listings.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1970-S 1C Doubled Die Obverse FS-101, BN: about 50 known, where the doubling shows, brown guide values.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1970-S 1C Doubled Die Obverse, RD: red guide values and MS63 to MS66 auction results.
• Greysheet: 1970 Lincoln cents, Memorial reverse: CPG ranges for all 1970 business strikes including strong and weak doubling.
• Wikipedia: Lincoln cent mintage figures: mintages for 1970, 1970-D, 1970-S and the proofs.