Item of the Week: 1924-S key to MS-65 Lincoln cent collection
The overlooked 1924-S Lincoln cent may seem ordinary in lower grades, but in Gem condition, this surprising sleeper becomes one of the series’ toughest modern keys.
Every time you think you understand the rare coin market, along comes a 1924-S Lincoln cent, and your whole world is turned upside down. It is like building an unsinkable ship and then getting the idea to name it “Titanic”.
For over a century now, we have tried to figure out Lincoln cents. We collected them as kids, and we know the list of best ones as well as we know the names of our grandchildren. That knowledge doesn’t include the 1924-S.
The best non-error Lincoln cent is the 1909-S VDB in circulated grades. Its mintage of 484,000 is much lower than others, and it commands the highest prices in circulated grades, like in G-4, where the 1909-S VDB is $480, while the 1924-S is $1.25.
The 1914-D is the Lincoln that has received a lot of attention because it is so tough in top grades. While the 1909-S VDB was being saved, the 1914-D was not, so it is far tougher than the 1909-S VDB in MS-65. The 1931-S had a lower mintage than the 1914-D, but was also heavily saved. That is why the 1931-S is priced at $160 in AU-50 and $220 in MS-60. There is little difference in the numbers of the two, and that narrow range of grades is where most of the 1931-S coins will be found. The 1909-S is one of the last best Lincolns. Its mintage was less than 2 million pieces, which seems to be the cutoff for being a key Lincoln cent. There are a number of Lincoln cents with mintages of less than 10 million pieces. The San Francisco Lincolns from 1910 through two, and that narrow range of grades is where most of the 1931-S coins will be found. The 1909-S is one of the last best Lincolns. Its mintage was less than 2 million pieces, which seems to be the cutoff for being a key Lincoln cent. There are a number of Lincoln cents with mintages of less than 10 million pieces. The San Francisco Lincolns from 1910 through 1915 were less than 10 million pieces, as was the 1922-D, the 1923-S, the 1924-D (barely 2.5 million), the 1926-S, and a few 1930s dates. They are the better Lincoln cents and usually command solid premiums ranging from a $4.75 in G-4 to $25 for the 1911- S, while most Lincoln cents are worth less than a dollar.
The 1924-S is conspicuous in its absence from the list. There is a solid reason why the 1924-S is little more than $1 in G-4 – its mintage was nearly 11.7 million pieces. True, that is still on the low side, but there are many Lincoln cent dates with lower mintages, and a lot of them are from the period prior to 1920. Helping to keep the 1924-S in obscurity is the fact that it was not the lowest mintage Lincoln cent of 1924. It did not happen often, for usually the San Francisco mintage would be lower than Denver, but the 1924-S and its 11.7 million does not look good compared to the 2.5 million mintage at Denver that year.
The 1924-D is clearly a much better coin. The 1924-S is a dollar in G-4, and the 1924-D is $29. In XF-40, the 1924-D is $135, while the 1924-S is $65. In MS-60, the 1924-D is $260, while the 1924-S is $130.
But the 1924-D is $1,900 in MS-65 while the poor old 1924-S is $2,950! That is no misprint – the 1924-S may be an ordinary Lincoln cent in every grade, but it is not easily found in MS-65, which is why it is one of the keys to an MS-65 Lincoln cent collection.
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