On the numismatic front, coin collecting was gaining momentum as a hobby and investment strategy. The coin collecting craze launched by the public seeking rolls of rare 1950-D Jefferson Nickels continued through the mid-1950s. Numismatic News was established as a monthly coin collecting newspaper. Collecting annual United States Proof Sets gained popularity, and sales began to soar. Coin collecting became a full-fledged American hobby in 1952.
History of the Lincoln Wheat Cent
The United States Mint had minted the Lincoln Wheat Penny since 1909 when it replaced the Indian Head penny. By 1952, the mint made almost 37 billion Lincoln Wheat cents. James Earl Fraser, the designer of the Indian Head nickel, created a new design to replace the current Lincoln penny. However, the mint struck pattern pieces, and the newly redesigned penny was never adopted. The mint continued to manufacture Lincoln pennies with the wheat ears on the reverse until 1958. In 1959, the mint changed the reverse to feature a rendition of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, designed by Frank Gasparro. The Lincoln Memorial reverse continued for fifty years until the mint replaced it in 2009 with the Lincoln Bicentennial series of reverse designs. This one-year circulating commemorative was replaced in 2010 with a reverse design by Lyndall Bass featuring a prominent shield on the reverse. When first produced in 1909, the coin weighed 3.11 g and was composed of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. For one year, in 1943, the US government changed the composition to 100% steel with a thin zinc coating. This reduces the weight to 2.7 g. This change was necessitated by the war effort to supply the military with much-needed copper. In 1944 tin was removed from the composition but returned in 1947. By 1982 the cost of copper increased to the point where the mint changed the composition to a core of 99.2% zinc and 0.8% copper with a thin plating of pure copper. This current version of the coin weighs 2.5 g.
1952 Lincoln Wheat Penny Errors and Varieties
Because of the sheer volume of mass-produced Lincoln cents, odds have it that there are bound to be a few mistakes. Die varieties abound and include the famous 1955 Lincoln cent doubled die obverse and the 1943 copper pennies. However, 1952 was a year that yielded only one popular die variety in the Lincoln cent series: the 1952-D D/S Re-Punched Mint Mark (Catalog ID: FS-511). There is a slight remnant of an “S” on this variety underneath the “D” mint mark. This variety carries a slight premium over a non-variety specimen.
Grading Your Lincoln Penny
Coin grading is one of the quality measurements used to determine the coin’s value. The problem is that assessing the grade of the coin is not a scientific endeavor and is a matter of opinion. However, numismatists have agreed to specific criteria that help place a value on the coin. Lincoln wheat pennies are graded on a scale of 1 to 70. Where 1 is a well-worn and barely recognizable specimen, and 70 is a pristine and perfect example of the coin. You can accurately grade your Lincoln Wheat Penny by spending a little time educating yourself on the grading standards.
Striking Characteristics
The United States Mint manufactured Lincoln Wheat pennies in 1952 at three different facilities: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. These facilities produced hundreds of millions of Lincoln wheat pennies that year. Although these numbers sound humongous, mint personnel had time to make quality coins, and well-struck examples are easy to find. Additionally, planchets of this date are also of high quality.
Values & Mintages
Although 1952 Lincoln wheat pennies are quite common, uncirculated and well-struck examples in pristine condition can be worth a few dollars. Circulated examples are occasionally found in circulation today.
