1997 Penny Value – The 1997 Lincoln penny was the Lincoln memorial penny that was very common, used as changes, and as the smallest initial dollar. It is one of the most common pieces of coin, as you can particularly find it anywhere, as changes, under the sofa, or on rugs. The 1997 penny value is mostly worth only around its initial value, but in certain cases, it can be worth so much more than it is thought to be.
The 1997 penny value is worth around its initial value, if it was in poor grade conditions, it will be worth just the same as one penny.
However, some good, too-fine grades can be worth more than a couple of dollars, perhaps around $5 to $15.
Some of the error pennies like the 1997 penny close AM value at around $25 to even higher than $50.
What makes these penny special compared with others, and why some of them could be worth so much more, even though it was just one penny? Some of them are worth more than you think.
To make sure you understand how it was valued, the real 1997 penny value, and what’s made them valuable in the eye of collectors, we need to know its specifications, composition, and history behind it.
Specifications Of The 1997 Penny
The 1997 penny is the Lincoln memorial penny. The 1997 penny value was initially just $0.01, to be used as changes, and the lowest initial dollars.
The Lincoln Memorial penny was designed to replace the older wheat penny that has been around for many years and then changed into the Lincoln memorial penny which is still in circulation to this day.
The changes from the wheat ear penny, to the Lincoln memorial penny, is a Political move, as well as an economic move, and during the 1940s there were also changes in metal compositions to have lower copper.
That means the post-1940s Lincoln has less value, because of less copper compared with the pre-1940s penny which has around 95% copper composition.
To understand better the 1997 penny value, let’s delve deeper into its specifications, series, metal composition, and type. Here are the complete specifications of the 1997 Lincoln memorial penny:
- Type: Lincoln Memorial Penny
- Year minted: 1997
- Initial face value: $0.01
- Metal composition: 99.2% Zinc and Alloy, 0.8% Copper
- Total weight: 2.5 Grams
- Varieties: Lincoln 1997 Memorial Penny, 1997 Lincoln D Penny, 1997 Lincoln S Proof penny
On the reverse side, you are able to see the inscriptions of the Lincoln Memorial, along with the words: “The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, and “E-PLURIBUS UNUM”.
These words are minted in the exact dimension, sizes, and shapes. Sometimes, there are also rarer error pennies like the 1997 close AM penny value, and the Wide AM penny.
The Lincoln Memorial penny was one of the most common pieces of the penny, and not really sought after.
Featuring the bust of the famous president, Abraham Lincoln, with the other side of the coin featuring the famous Lincoln memorial building, it appears very ordinary, with the usual inscriptions like “IN GOD WE TRUST”, and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”.
One thing you know is that some people would value the coins with the metal composition inside of them. The price of the Lincoln Penny was valued based on its value of metal composition.
The copper inside of the coins, and how the melting price, If you are wondering, the melting price of the 1997 Lincoln penny is at least around $0.2.
In the year 1997, the US minted the 1997 penny error value with no mint mark; this was the 1997 Lincoln pennies that were minted in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia varieties have become the most common of the entire 1997 Lincoln penny.
Varieties Of 1997 Lincoln Memorial Penny
There were three varieties of Lincoln memorial penny that has been minted in the year 1997. There is the 1997 Lincoln memorial penny with no mint mark, the 1997 D Lincoln penny, and the 1997 S Proof penny.
These three are different varieties because they are minted separately, have different quantities minted, and also have different marks on them.
The first is the 1997 Lincoln penny, and it is the 1997 penny value no mint mark on it. It has no mint mark, unlike the other two varieties. It was minted in Philadelphia and the total quantity minted was 4.630.800.000 in the year 1997.
It was one of the most common varieties of those two, and nearly 95% of them are in circulated conditions.
Then, there is also the 1997 D Lincoln penny. The 1997 D penny was minted in Denver with the total quantity minted around 4.550.500.000, nearly the same amount as the one minted in Philadelphia.
The D penny is characterized by the D mark under the year, indicating it was minted in Denver. Some of the uncirculated grade 1997 d penny errors can be quite worth your time and resources to hunt.
The last variety of the Lincoln 1997 penny is the 1997 S Proof penny. It was minted in San Francisco, with a total handful amount of 2.800.678 pennies.
The S Proof penny was minted as commemorative collectible pennies, to be used, and sold for any collectors willing to pay for collectible grades of Lincoln 1997 Pennies.
It is noticeably fewer than the other two varieties because of the S Proof grades. It was minted as proof pennies, meaning a lot of them to end up non-circulated.
Some of the S Proof 1997 pennies are uncirculated, rare, and can worth more than $50, especially the 1997 wide AM penny value.
The History Behind The 1997 Lincoln Penny
When we are talking about the Lincoln penny, there is a lot of history behind it, from the changing of compositions back then during World War II times, the mixed-up of the double die during the 1990s, and many more.
Even though 1997 is just well, regular old pennies, there was a lot of history behind this piece of a penny. Let’s learn about this piece of penny history behind its 1997 penny value.
During World War II times, in the 1940s, when the US government participated in the great world, many aspects of life has been affected, from industrial, to financial, and many more.
One aspect of it is the use of copper as the catalyst of industrialization, from making ammunition, medicine, creating a weapon, and to be used as the rising industrialization, as well as electronics.
Understanding the 1997 silver penny value, as well as copper value meaning to understand the history of changing metal compositions in the metal, in the 1940s, the US government issued an edict changing the metal compositions of the Lincoln penny from the copper pennies that were composed of 95% Copper, to the Alloy pennies, composed of Zinc and Alloy with the total of 99.2% Compositions.
This change in composition is mostly caused by the rising prices of copper that are used in one penny. Eventually, the 1997 D penny value would be affected by this change in 1940.
What does it mean? That means any penny minted as a pre-1940s penny would value higher because of the higher copper compositions, while anything minted post-1940s like the 1997 D Close Am penny value is lower than that.
During the 1990s, there was a lot of mixed-up happening during the mintage of the 1990s Lincoln memorial penny. This was mostly caused by the mintage and human error behind it.
For example, during 1993, there was a lot of mixed-up caused by the double die minted, causing a lot of 1997 double ear Lincoln penny values to be minted from 1993 to 1997.
Other than double die, there was also a lot of mixed-up such as the Close AM penny, and wide AM or FG Pennies.
A lot of Error pennies were minted around the 1990s, making this period can have a lot of valuable error pennies minted during this year, such as the 1997 D penny close AM, the 1997 double ear penny value, and many more.
See Also: 1992 Penny Value, 1996 Penny Value, 1999 Penny Value, 1979 Penny Value
The 1997 Lincoln Error Pennies
During 1993 and 1994, there are several mixes up happening in Philadelphia, and Denver Mintage. This mixed-up was caused by the mintage; they are using the double die penny, even though they shouldn’t be on that year.
This resulted in creating a lot of error pennies for years around the 1990s to the early 2000s, and 1997 year also has several error pennies.
These are several error pennies that can be valuable, especially if you are getting the uncirculated grades of 1997 penny value no mint mark:
• 1997 Lincoln Double Die Penny
This is one of the most common error pennies found in the 1990s Lincoln penny. However, even though quite a common error, the truth is, that it is very hard to find in circulation. The 1997 penny error value can be worth around $15 to $25.
• 1997 Wide AM Penny
The Wide AM penny is the Lincoln error pennies that can be distinguished with the wide AM initials in the “AMERICA” on the reverse side. The wide AM can be seen through magnifying glasses. The 1997 wide AM penny value can be worth more than $50 to even $75.
• 1997 FG Penny
The FG initials penny was the same as Wide or Close AM Penny, as this was the initials error pennies. To check if the error were authentic, you might need to check on the local coin grading services or contact the local coin dealers.
These are some examples of valuable Lincoln pennies that you can keep an eye on. There are also other error pennies that you can collect. The chances of finding error pennies are extremely slim and nearly impossible to find.
Looking for More Information About Coins? Check Other Years From This Lincoln Coin Series:
1959 1960 1961 1962
1963 1964 1965 1966
1967 1968 1969 1970
1971 1972 1973 1974
1975 1976 1977 1978
1979 1980 1981 1982
1983 1984 1985 1986
1987 1988 1989 1990
1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998
1999 2000 2001 2002
2003 2004 2005 2006
2007 2008 2009
Frequently Asked Questions About The 1997 Lincoln Memorial Penny
To help you collect the precious Lincoln memorial penny, you might need help in collecting the old coins, and precious 1997 pennies.
So, here are a few of the 1997 Lincoln memorial pennies that might help you in collecting precious pennies, such as the 1998 no mint mark close AM penny value, as well as several other Lincoln error pennies.
How Much Is A 1997 Double Ear Penny Worth?
The 1997 Double ear penny is one of the oddities, and kind of rare pennies that can be valued for more than $15 to $30. The double-ear penny is also a pretty rare, and sought-after piece by many collectors. The double ear, and double die penny, however, is hard to obtain error pennies, so the chance of finding the authentic error pennies is slim, to even impossible.
With the total of 95% circulated 1997 pennies, only 5% was uncirculated, and in the 5%, there are at least only 15% that have double ear error pennies.
This made them quite valuable, and sought after by many collectors, thus increasing the 1997 penny value in general.
Is There A Rare 1997 Penny?
Most of the 1997 penny value isn’t worth so much, and it is very common for pennies anyway. However, some of the uncirculated grades, especially the error pennies like the 1997 no mint mark close am penny value are considered rare pennies.
What Are 1997 Pennies Made Of?
One thing that affected the 1998 Penny value was the metal composition of its pennies, the 1997 Lincoln memorial pennies were made of Zinc, and Copper, to be precise it was made with 99.2% of Zinc or Alloy, and 0.8% Copper. It was a post-1940s Lincoln penny; therefore it has very less composition of copper.
That’s the discussion regarding the 1997 Penny Value, as well as the complete discussion of error pennies such as the 1997 Close AM penny value, and 1997 D Close AM penny Value. To make sure you understand how much it was valued, see also our articles about the 1997 commonwealth of the Bahamas penny value.
Related:
1984 Penny Value
1964 Penny Value
1976 Penny Value
1983 Penny Value