1990 Penny Value: The 1990 No S Proof and Ordinary Coins

A 1990 or 1990-D penny from change is worth one cent as of October 2026, and even a flawless uncirculated one about $1. The only 1990 cent worth real money is the 1990 No S proof, a mirror-finish coin from a 1990 proof set that was struck without the S mint mark: fewer than 200 are known, and PCGS deep cameo examples have sold for $3,600 in PR67 (2023), $3,840-4,920 in PR68 (2023-2025) and $4,560-4,920 in PR69 (2023-2026).

Everything else dated 1990 is common. A few minor doubled dies exist and bring a few dollars, and the top-graded business strikes bring money only in PCGS or NGC holders. The checks below take a minute and start with whether your coin is a proof at all.

Quick answer

• 1990 (6,851,765,000 struck) and 1990-D (4,922,894,533): one cent worn, about $1 red uncirculated; Greysheet lists red mint state at about $0.08-110 for the 1990 and $0.08-1,500 for the 1990-D across all grades.
• 1990-S proof with the S: $1-5 as a single, up to about $65 for a top deep cameo, according to Greysheet.
• 1990 No S proof: PCGS guide $2,100 in PR63 to $5,850 in PR69 deep cameo; recent sales $3,600 (PR67DCAM, 2023), $3,840 (PR68DCAM, September 2025), $4,800 (PR69DCAM, March 2026). Record $20,700 in 2007.
• PCGS estimates fewer than 200 No S cents are known; the Mint confirmed it destroyed 145, according to PCGS. No official release figure exists.
• A business strike 1990 with no mint mark is simply a Philadelphia cent. The No S only matters on a proof.

How do you value a 1990 penny, step by step?

Decide whether it is a proof, then look under the date.

1. Tell a proof from a business strike. A proof has deep mirror fields, frosted raised design on the better ones, square sharp rims and a flawless strike. It came from a 1990 proof set in a hard plastic holder. A dull or lustrous coin from change is a business strike, and a business strike with no mint mark is an ordinary Philadelphia cent.
2. On a proof, look under the date. Every 1990 proof cent should carry an S for San Francisco. If the space under the date is empty on a true proof, you may have the No S.
3. Check the rest of the set. The No S cent was struck at San Francisco from a die that was never punched with the mint mark. The other coins in the set are normal and carry their S.
4. Rule out a filled or weak S. Grease can fill a mint mark so it strikes faintly. Tilt the coin under a single light: a filled S leaves a ghost outline or a raised blob. The No S die has a clean, flat field.
5. On business strikes, read the mint mark. None is Philadelphia, D is Denver. Both are worth face value worn.
6. Look for doubling. A few minor doubled dies are listed for 1990 and 1990-D by variety catalogers such as Wexler and CONECA. They are small and sell for a few dollars to perhaps tens of dollars; strong, separated doubling across LIBERTY and the motto would be something new and should be checked by a specialist.
7. Judge wear and color. Flat cheek and jaw mean circulated. Red carries the price on uncirculated coins; a PCGS or NGC MS68 or MS69 red is the only business strike that brings more than a few dollars.
8. Price from sold results for the exact coin, grade and designation. A No S proof is priced as PR grade plus cameo or deep cameo.

What is a 1990 penny worth?

Prices as of October 2026 from PCGS CoinFacts guide values and auction records and Greysheet CPG ranges. Circulated business strikes of both mints are worth one cent.

The No S price has settled rather than risen. The record, $20,700 for a PCGS PR69 deep cameo at Bowers and Merena in August 2007, came when far fewer had been graded. PCGS now shows 81 grading events in PR69DCAM and 145 in PR68DCAM, which is why PR68 and PR69 coins sell within a few hundred dollars of each other. Those counts are grading events, which include resubmissions of the same coin, so they run higher than the fewer-than-200 survivors PCGS estimates. Non-cameo examples sell for less, roughly $1,200-2,000 according to Greysheet, and sales of those are thin.

What is the 1990 No S proof penny and how did it happen?

It is a proof cent struck at San Francisco from an obverse die that never received the S mint mark. According to PCGS, by 1990 mint marks were no longer hand punched into each proof die; a business strike working die, which carries no mint mark for Philadelphia, was mistakenly processed as a proof die and shipped to San Francisco. The Mint confirmed that it destroyed 145 of the coins. PCGS notes that each proof die pair was striking about 3,700 cents at the time, but no official count of how many No S cents left the Mint has been published, and PCGS's own commentary puts the number known at fewer than 200.

Jim Gullen of New York found the first one on July 18, 1990, according to PCGS, which ranks the coin ninth in its Top 100 Modern Coins. They still turn up. Numismatic News reported a Florida collector who found one in a box of mixed-date proof sets he had bought decades earlier and stored unopened. That is the realistic path to finding one today: not pocket change, but an unsearched run of 1990 proof sets. Our proof sets worth anything guide covers what else to look for in old sets.

Are there 1990 doubled die pennies worth money?

Not major ones. Variety catalogers list several minor doubled dies for 1990 and 1990-D, with slight doubling on parts of the lettering or the date, and they sell for a few dollars to perhaps tens of dollars to specialists; Greysheet lists no separate 1990 doubled die entries at all. Most of what gets sold online as a "1990 double die" is machine doubling, a flat shelf on one side of the letters that adds nothing. There is no 1990 equivalent of the 1955 or 1969-S doubled dies. If you see strong, rounded, separated doubling across LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST, photograph it and show a variety specialist, but expect the answer to be strike doubling. Our error coins worth money guide shows the difference.

Is an uncirculated 1990 penny worth anything?

A dollar or so for a bright red coin, and real money only at the very top in a PCGS or NGC holder. Greysheet's range runs to $110 for the 1990 and $1,500 for the 1990-D, and those ceilings are for MS69 red coins of which a handful exist. The copper-plated zinc cents of this era spot easily and often show plating blisters, so most bright coins grade MS65 to MS67 and are worth a few dollars at most. Grading fees exceed the value of anything below MS68. If you have an original bank-wrapped roll, the right move is to look through it for the single cleanest coin rather than to send the roll. For how grades work, see the coin grading scale.

A worked example

Say you inherit a stack of blue-box US proof sets and open the 1990. The cent is mirror bright, with frosted lettering, and under the date there is nothing: no S, and under a loupe no ghost of a letter either. The other four coins in the set show their S normally. That is the pattern of a genuine No S set. Do not remove the coin from the holder; a dealer or PCGS can handle that. Sent to PCGS or NGC, a spotless example would likely come back PR68 or PR69 deep cameo and sell for about $3,800-4,900 based on 2023-2026 results. If instead the field under the date showed a faint raised outline of an S, you would have a grease-filled die on an ordinary 1990-S proof, worth a few dollars.

Common mistakes

• Thinking a 1990 business strike with no mint mark is the No S. Philadelphia cents never carried a mint mark. The variety exists only on proofs.
• Mistaking a weak or filled S for no S. Tilt the coin; a filled mint mark leaves a trace. The real No S field is clean.
• Pricing from the 2007 record. The $20,700 sale predates most of the grading; PR69 deep cameos now sell for about $4,500-4,900.
• Expecting money for a "1990 double die". The listed doubled dies are minor, and most online examples are machine doubling.
• Breaking a proof set apart. Keep the set intact until a dealer or grading service sees it; buyers like the original holder.
• Cleaning a proof. A single wipe leaves hairlines that cut a proof's grade and price; see should you clean old coins.

How WorthPic reads 1990 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 tells a proof from a business strike by the mirror fields and rims, reads the date, and looks under it for a mint mark or for the trace of a filled one. On a proof with an empty field it says what that could mean and what would confirm it. It judges wear and color on business strikes, and looks at LIBERTY and the motto for doubling and separates it from 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 confirm a No S proof or assign a cameo designation from a phone photo. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• The coin in its proof set holder, whole set visible, if it came in one.
• The date and the space under it filling the frame, under a single light tilted to show any trace of a letter.
• The front and back straight on, in even light, showing the mirror fields.
• LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST close up on any coin that seems doubled.
• Lincoln's cheek at an angle on business strikes, to show wear and luster.

When to get it looked at in person

A 1990 or 1990-D from change needs no expert. A proof cent with a clean, empty field under the date should go to an experienced coin dealer and then to PCGS or NGC, which attribute the No S and assign the cameo or deep cameo designation that sets the price. Heritage, Stack's Bowers and GreatCollections have all sold recent examples. For other modern cents worth a second look, see our 1999 penny value guide, and for a quick sort of a jar start with what pennies are worth money.

Sources

• PCGS CoinFacts: 1990 1C No S, DCAM (Proof): discovery date and discoverer, the 145 destroyed, the fewer-than-200 figure, guide values, populations and auction records.
• PCGS Top 100 Modern Coins: 1990 No S proof Lincoln cent: how the die was made and shipped, and the Mint's statement.
• Numismatic News: Collector strikes it rich with No S: the proof set find, PCGS and NGC counts, and the 2007 record.
• Greysheet: 1990 Lincoln cents, Memorial reverse, proof: CPG ranges for the 1990-S proof and the No S in red, cameo and deep cameo.
• Greysheet: 1990 Lincoln cents, Memorial reverse: CPG ranges for the 1990 and 1990-D business strikes.
• Wikipedia: Lincoln cent mintage figures: 1990 and 1990-D mintages.