A 2000 penny is worth one cent in circulated condition, as of October 2026. The variety worth checking is the 2000 Wide AM, a Philadelphia cent struck with a proof-style reverse, which sells for about $3 to $6 worn and $34 to $170 in MS66 to MS67 red. Ordinary 2000 cents bring real money only near perfection: about $70 to $80 in MS68 red, $1,550 in MS69.
The Mint struck more than 14 billion cents dated 2000, so common is the right word. The Wide AM is common too by variety standards, but it is a genuine, catalogued variety that a careful look at the back of the coin can find in pocket change.
Quick answer
- A circulated 2000 or 2000-D penny is worth one cent.
- A 2000 Wide AM (FS-901), Philadelphia only, sells for roughly $3 to $6 circulated, as of October 2026.
- Greysheet's retail guide values a 2000 Wide AM at about $34 in MS66 red and $170 in MS67 red.
- Ordinary 2000 cents are valued at about $80 in MS68 red and $1,550 in MS69 red; the 2000-D at about $15 in MS67 and $70 in MS68.
- Graded mint errors such as broadstrikes, brockages and indents sold for about $80 to $220 at Heritage in October 2026.
How do you value a 2000 penny, step by step?
Check the mint mark, check the reverse for the Wide AM, then judge grade and color.
- Read the mint mark. It sits under the date. No letter means Philadelphia. D means Denver. An S means a proof from a proof set.
- Turn the coin over and find AMERICA. On the Lincoln Memorial reverse, look at the letters A and M in AMERICA under a 5x or 10x loupe.
- Decide Close AM or Wide AM. On the normal 2000 business strike, the Close AM, the bottoms of the A and M nearly touch. On the Wide AM, there is a clear gap between them.
- Confirm with the designer's initials. The initials FG sit to the lower right of the Memorial. On the Wide AM reverse they sit slightly closer to the base of the building than on the Close AM. This is a fine difference, so compare with photos of known examples.
- Only Philadelphia counts. The 2000 Wide AM is known on coins without a mint mark. A 2000-D with what looks like a wide gap is almost always wear, damage or a misread.
- Judge wear and color. Look at Lincoln's cheek and hair and the columns of the Memorial. Most 2000 cents in circulation are worn and toned brown. Uncirculated coins are graded red, red-brown or brown, and only bright red coins in high grades carry premiums.
- Check for corrosion. Copper-plated zinc cents often develop spots, bubbles and pitting. A corroded coin is worth face value, even if it is a Wide AM.
- Price from sold results for the same variety, grade and color.
What is a 2000 penny worth?
Figures as of October 2026, from Greysheet retail values and recorded sales. Circulated coins of every mint, apart from the Wide AM, are worth one cent.
| Coin | Mintage | Circulated | Uncirculated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (no mint mark) | 5,503,200,000 | Face value | About $80 in MS68 red; about $1,550 in MS69 red |
| 2000-D | 8,774,220,000 | Face value | About $15 in MS67 red; about $70 in MS68 red |
| 2000 Wide AM, FS-901 | Part of 2000 | About $3-6 on eBay | About $34 in MS66 red; about $170 in MS67 red |
| 2000-S proof | Proof sets only | Not applicable | Worth little outside top proof grades |
| Mint errors (broadstrike, die cap, off-center) | Varies | Depends on the error | About $80-220 at Heritage for graded examples (October 2026) |
Note the shape of the market. Lower mint state grades of an ordinary 2000 cent are worth little above face, because so many were saved from rolls and bags. The prices sit almost entirely in MS68 and MS69, where a coin must look nearly flawless under magnification.
What is the 2000 Wide AM penny?
It is a 2000 Philadelphia business-strike cent struck with a reverse die of the type used for proof coins. By the late 1990s, proof cents carried a reverse with the A and M of AMERICA spaced apart, while business strikes used a reverse with the two letters nearly touching. In 1998, 1999 and 2000, some proof-style reverse dies were used to strike ordinary cents, producing the Wide AM varieties.
According to PCGS CoinFacts, the 2000 Wide AM is the most common of the three dates. The 1999 Wide AM is generally regarded as the scarcest. That is why the 2000 trades for a few dollars worn while the 1999 can bring much more. Greysheet's retail guide puts the 2000 at about $34 in MS66 red and $170 in MS67 red. Real sales scatter around those figures: an ICG MS66 red brought $80 at auction in April 2026, while worn examples typically sell for a few dollars on eBay. When sales are this spread out, price from several recent results for the same grade, not from one.
A Wide AM is attributed by PCGS and NGC as FS-901, the number from the Cherrypickers' Guide. A raw coin listed as a Wide AM is only as reliable as the seller's eyes.
What 2000 penny errors are worth money?
Genuine mint errors, not damage. The 2000 cent was made in such vast numbers that dramatic errors do turn up. Heritage's October 2026 results for graded 2000 cents include a 60 percent indent and broadstrike in MS65 red at $79, a 70 percent brockage and broadstrike in MS64 red at $89, and a 40 percent brockage and broadstrike in MS67 red at $114. Off-center strikes, broadstrikes, clipped planchets and die caps are the common types. Our guide to error coins worth money explains each.
What is not an error: bubbles and blisters in the copper plating, coins that look silver because the plating has worn or been removed, and coins damaged after they left the Mint. These are common on zinc cents and are worth one cent.
Is it worth grading a 2000 penny?
Rarely. Grading fees at PCGS and NGC are charged per coin and, for modern coins, usually cost more than the coin is worth unless it reaches the very top grades. The numbers make the case. An ordinary 2000 cent is valued at about $80 in MS68 red, but most uncirculated coins from rolls grade MS65 to MS67, where they are worth a few dollars at most. A Wide AM in MS66 red is valued at about $34, close to what a single submission can cost once shipping is added.
Grading pays only for a coin that is bright red, fully lustrous and without spots or marks under a loupe, and even then it is a bet on the grade. If you have a whole roll of bright uncirculated 2000 cents, look through them for the single best coin rather than sending the roll. Our coin grading scale guide explains what separates MS66 from MS68.
A worked example
Say you are sorting a jar and find a 2000 penny with no mint mark that is lightly worn and brown. Under a loupe, the A and M in AMERICA have a clear gap at the bottom, about as wide as the stroke of the letters, while a 2001 cent from the same jar has the two letters nearly touching. The FG initials also look a little closer to the Memorial.
That is a 2000 Wide AM. Because it is worn and brown, it is worth about $3 to $6 to a collector, not the MS67 red price you may see in a guide. Grading would cost more than it adds. The realistic choice is to sell it on eBay, clearly described with a close-up of AMERICA, or add it to a Lincoln cent collection. If it had been a bright red, uncirculated coin with no marks, sending it to PCGS or NGC for attribution and a grade would make sense.
Common mistakes
- Checking only the obverse. The Wide AM is on the reverse. The date side looks the same.
- Looking for a Wide AM on a 2000-D. The variety is known on Philadelphia coins.
- Pricing a worn coin from the MS67 red column. Wear and brown color cut the value to a few dollars.
- Calling plating bubbles an error. They are corrosion, common on zinc cents and worth face.
- Confusing the 2000 with the 1999 Wide AM. The 1999 is scarcer and worth much more.
- Cleaning the coin. It strips the thin copper plating; see should you clean old coins.
How WorthPic reads 2000 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 and color, and looks at the spacing of the A and M in AMERICA and the position of the FG initials to separate the Wide AM from the normal Close AM. It also notes plating damage and obvious mint errors. It then gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure and says which close-up would settle the question. It cannot measure the gap to a fraction of a millimeter, cannot judge true red color under every kind of light, and cannot grade a coin for MS68 or MS69. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The reverse straight on in even light, filling the frame.
- AMERICA close up, especially the base of the A and M.
- The FG initials and the base of the Memorial close up.
- The obverse straight on, with the date and mint mark sharp.
- For uncirculated coins, one photo in daylight to show the true color.
When to get it looked at in person
A worn 2000 penny, Wide AM or not, does not need an expert. A Wide AM can be sold raw with clear photos, and ordinary cents are worth face value. Consider PCGS or NGC only for a bright red uncirculated Wide AM that looks flawless, a dramatic mint error, or an ordinary 2000 cent that might reach MS68 or MS69, and remember that most coins from rolls grade lower than they look. A local coin club is a good place for a second look at the AM spacing before you pay a fee. For other dates in the jar, see what pennies are worth money, and for the most searched modern cent, our 2009 penny value guide.
Sources
- Greysheet: 2000 Wide AM cent, MS red: MS66 and MS67 red retail values.
- Greysheet: 2000 cent, MS red: Philadelphia mintage, the MS69 value and Heritage's October 2026 error sales.
- Greysheet: 2000-D cent, MS red: Denver mintage and the MS68 value.
- PCGS CoinFacts: 2000 Wide AM: the proof reverse die and the 2000 as the most common of the three Wide AM dates.