1949 Lincoln Cent Date Guide

NATO and postwar prosperity

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1949 overview Mintage, history, and notes for this year's cents

Philadelphia (MS)

Photo Credit: Cotgreave Collection

(click images above to see larger view)

Mintage: 217,775,000
Mintage Ranking for Type: (37 of 140)

Denver (MS)

Photo Credit: Cotgreave Collection

(click images above to see larger view)

Mintage: 153,132,500
Mintage Ranking for Type: (53 of 140)

San Francisco (MS)

Photo Credit: Cotgreave Collection

(click images above to see larger view)

Mintage: 64,290,000
Mintage Ranking for Type: (79 of 140)

1949 in history

Circulating cents remained bronze as inflation stayed modest and coin collecting grew as a hobby.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in April, committing mutual defense among Western allies.
The Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb, ending the U.S. nuclear monopoly.
Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1 after civil war victory.
The German Federal Republic was established in the West; East Germany followed in the Soviet zone.
The first Volkswagen Beetle was sold in the United States.
George Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel about totalitarian surveillance.
The first Emmy Awards honored excellence in the young television industry.

1949 Lincoln cent year notes

Cent production is up overall this year, but the San Francisco Mint's production is down by over 15 million coins. What would otherwise be a rather quiet year is stirred by this shortage. 1949-S cents in high grade are sought after by collectors and carry a little more value than other coins of this period - which is ironic considering the 1949-S cents are slightly more plentiful.

There are few known doubled dies of mention this year, but repunched mintmarks continue at around a dozen known per mint. A few of the repunched mintmarks are nice, but many are rather minor and worth a bit less than other die varieties of the era.

1949D-1MM-001 shows a tripled mintmark as a nice spread to the northeast and doubled serifs. Photo by R.S. Cooper

A new '4' digit was put into place this year in the date. It has a squared-off top as opposed to the pointed top used on 1948 cents. One of the two reported doubled dies for 1949-S involves what is apparently a squared-off '4' over a pointed '4'. While no examples have been found of a pointed top 1949 cent, one should watch for this possibility when searching through coins.

Images/Mintage Mint issues and coin images for 1949

Philadelphia (MS)

Photo Credit: Cotgreave Collection

(click images above to see larger view)

Mintage: 217,775,000
Mintage Ranking for Type: (37 of 140)

Denver (MS)

Photo Credit: Cotgreave Collection

(click images above to see larger view)

Mintage: 153,132,500
Mintage Ranking for Type: (53 of 140)

San Francisco (MS)

Photo Credit: Cotgreave Collection

(click images above to see larger view)

Mintage: 64,290,000
Mintage Ranking for Type: (79 of 140)

1949 in history What else was happening that year

Circulating cents remained bronze as inflation stayed modest and coin collecting grew as a hobby.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in April, committing mutual defense among Western allies.
The Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb, ending the U.S. nuclear monopoly.
Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1 after civil war victory.
The German Federal Republic was established in the West; East Germany followed in the Soviet zone.
The first Volkswagen Beetle was sold in the United States.
George Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel about totalitarian surveillance.
The first Emmy Awards honored excellence in the young television industry.

1949 cent notes Collector notes for this year's Lincoln cents

Design types Obverse and reverse engravings in use for 1949

Obverse design types (ODT)

Flat serif G obverse — ODT09 · 1922–1929 · business · 1931–1933 · business · 1935–1955 · business · 1936–1942 · proof · 1950–1955 · proof

Reverse design types (RDT)

Wheat reverse — RDT01 · 1909–1958

See the design types reference. Design types identify engraved designs; when differing designs create collectible alternatives within a year, see Lincoln cent design varieties.

Mint mark types Punch styles used on 1949 Lincoln cents

Pulled Corner-D — 1946–1953 · business
Trumpet-tail S — 1942 · business · 1945–1952 · business

See the mint mark types reference.

Typical values Series price guide for regular-issue 1949 cents

1949 Lincoln cents from the CopperCoins series price guide (August/September 2026 edition) — approximate values only, not offers to buy or sell. Business strikes show separate BN, RB, and RD lines where priced.

Business strike

Issue	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	EF40	AU50
1949-P BN	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.10	0.10
1949-P RB
1949-P RD
1949-D BN	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.10	0.10
1949-D RB
1949-D RD
1949-S BN	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.10	0.10
1949-S RB
1949-S RD

Issue	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62
1949-P BN	0.15	0.15	0.15	1.75	2	2.30
1949-P RB
1949-P RD				2	2	4
1949-D BN	0.15	0.15	0.20	1.75	2	2.90
1949-D RB
1949-D RD				2	2	4
1949-S BN	0.15	0.25	0.30	1.45	1.75	2.60
1949-S RB
1949-S RD						4

Issue	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67
1949-P BN	2.60	2.90	4.80	11.25
1949-P RB	2.90	4.05	9	20
1949-P RD	5.50	11.75	17.50	85	1,925
1949-D BN	3.45	4.05	5.40	13.75
1949-D RB	5.20	5.75	9.60	20
1949-D RD	7.80	11.50	16.75	69.50	740
1949-S BN	3.15	3.45	6	13.75	27.50
1949-S RB	4.60	6.35	12	17.50	43.75
1949-S RD	4.05	6.85	14.25	27.75	192

Issue	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	EF40	AU50
1949-P BN	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.10	0.10
1949-P RB
1949-P RD
1949-D BN	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.10	0.10
1949-D RB
1949-D RD
1949-S BN	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.10	0.10
1949-S RB
1949-S RD

Issue	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62
1949-P BN	0.15	0.15	0.15	1.75	2	2.30
1949-P RB
1949-P RD				2	2	4
1949-D BN	0.15	0.15	0.20	1.75	2	2.90
1949-D RB
1949-D RD				2	2	4
1949-S BN	0.15	0.25	0.30	1.45	1.75	2.60
1949-S RB
1949-S RD						4

Issue	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67
1949-P BN	2.60	2.90	4.80	11.25
1949-P RB	2.90	4.05	9	20
1949-P RD	5.50	11.75	17.50	85	1,925
1949-D BN	3.45	4.05	5.40	13.75
1949-D RB	5.20	5.75	9.60	20
1949-D RD	7.80	11.50	16.75	69.50	740
1949-S BN	3.15	3.45	6	13.75	27.50
1949-S RB	4.60	6.35	12	17.50	43.75
1949-S RD	4.05	6.85	14.25	27.75	192

Die varieties in the catalog Attributed 1949 dies by mint and variety type

Our attribution catalog for 1949—doubled dies, repunched mint marks, and related varieties documented by die number. This is specialist research beyond regular issue Lincoln cents.

Search all 1949 dies Variety value guide for 1949

Catalogued dies for 1949

Number of assigned dies in the CopperCoins catalog, by mint and variety type. Click a count to search that group.

Mint	DO	MM	Total
Philadelphia (P)	3	N/A	3
Denver (D)	4	38	42
San Francisco (S)	4	39	43
All mints	11	77	88

Variety plate coin videos Roll-reveal videos that sourced plate coins for 1949 dies

Videos on our YouTube channel that show when the plate coins for these dies were found in CopperCoins roll reveal videos.

See all 59 videos

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