Lincoln cents are one of the most widely collected coins that were minted by the United States mint. The Lincoln cent was created to celebrate Lincoln's 100th birthday and has his portrait on it. It was first minted in 1909 and is still in use today. Many people started to put together collections of these coins, only to find that there were a few coins that made their sets nearly impossible to complete.
These dates were as follows:
1909 S cent with a mintage of 484,000
1914 D cent has a mintage of 1,193,000
1931 S cent has a mintage of 866,000
1922 no D cent with an unknown mintage
The most elusive coin in the series is the 1922 no D cent. It is the only circulation strike coin in the entire Lincoln cent series which lacks its intended mint mark. It is the key to the series. To date, PCGS has certified a total of only 5,181 coins.
These key date coins can range in value from $50.00 to as much as $50,000.00 depending on the state of preservation and rarity of the coin.
Collecting coins can be exciting and knowing these key dates will help you when searching through your Lincoln cents.