1962 Lincoln Cent Date Guide

Since the reintroduction of tin in the Lincoln cent composition in 1947 had been less than one percent of the total composition of the cent, it was a rather insignificant part of the overall metal used to strike the coins. By 1962 the total amount of tin in a cent was barely enough to detect under the most sensitive scales. Congress passed a law removing the tin from the cent altogether in September. The amount of zinc in the cent's composition was slightly increased and production continued through the end of the year. Although both metallic compositions exist for 1962 cents, the difference is undetectable so collector interest in attempting to find the difference has been non-existent.

High mintage is still the rule in 1962; nearly 2.5 billion cents were struck again this year. Again, uncirculated bags and rolls are quite plentiful and can be found at price levels that are at or below double face value. Proof sets are again very common as are rolls of proof cents, again at $20 or less per roll. Most of these are the result of dismantled sets in which the best coins were removed and submitted for grading, so what remained for rolls were typically the coins that were not cameo or were not of high enough grade to warrant slab fees.

Because most proof sets were dismantled for grade only, the rolls that remain are usually loaded with doubled dies. I have never failed to find at least one doubled die in every roll of 1962 proof cents purchased, and have found as many as 30 in a single roll. Doubled dies for 1962 proof cents number over 30 counting obverse and reverse together, with the majority of these showing in the date. At one time these obverse doubled dies were considered so plentiful they were initially believed to be master die doubling, but upon further review they were found to have a number of different spreads (which would be impossible for master die doubling), so they were broken down and listed as separate doubled dies.

Repunched mintmarks are not nearly as numerous as in previous years. Although there are a number of different dies to be found, most of them are minor. While searching for RPMs, watch for a problem that occurred with the mintmark punch this year that somewhat resembles the broken punch of 1952. This one, however, shows a dent or dimple in the lower serif that many collectors have mistaken for RPMs.

Cents from 1962 have been reported in the past as having been from two different designs, something rather unclear having to do with the front of the hairline and how it meets the forehead. Disregard such claims. Any difference noted in Lincoln's bust is a result of die polishing and not of a design change. All 1962 business strike cents were minted from dies created with the same design.

Although the general spread of die varieties for this year is rather lackluster and very few dies stick out as being even moderately interesting, there are still enough of them in quantity to sufficiently populate rolls. This makes the rolls at least interesting if not occasionally valuable. Although not rated as one of the top memorial years to dig through (except for proofs), they are still worth the buy at the current market price.