If you are wondering what a 1995 penny value is, look no more because we have all the answers! Continue reading to learn everything there is to know about this wonderful coin, including its history, varieties, grading, and errors. Let’s start!
1995 Penny Value Details
- Category – Lincoln Memorial cent
- Mint – Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
- Mintage – 13 542 797 481
- Obverse designer – Victor David Brenner
- Reverse designer – Frank Gasparro
- Composition – zinc and copper
- Weight – 2.5 grams (0.08 ounces)
- Diameter – 19 millimeters (0.74 inches)
- Thickness – 1.5 millimeters (0.05 inches)
The US Mint made more than thirteen and a half billion pennies in 1995, so they are not rare at all. The pennies were distributed from three locations – Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.
The designers of this penny are Victor D. Brenner and Frank Gasparro. Brenner designed the obverse of the coin while Gasparro designed the reverse.
A 1995 penny is mostly made out of zinc with only 2.5% of copper. It weighs 2.5 grams and is 19 mm in diameter.
Also Read: Top 20 Most Valuable Old Pennies Worth Money (Penny Collection)
1995 Penny Value Chart
Considering the large number of pennies produced in 1995, it’s no wonder that they are usually not valuable at all. Most of them are worth only $0.01 and the price significantly rises only if they are in mint condition with a grade close to 70.
| Condition | 1995 No Mint Mark Penny Value | 1995 D Mint Mark Penny Value | 1995 S Mint Mark Penny Value |
| Poor | $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.01 |
| Fair | $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.01 |
| About good | $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.01 – $0.10 |
| Good | $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.10 – $0.30 |
| Fine | $0.01 – $0.10 | $0.01 – $0.10 | $0.30 – $0.50 |
| Very fine | $0.10 – $0.20 | $0.10 – $0.20 | $0.50 – $1 |
| Extremely fine | $0.20 – $0.30 | $0.20 – $0.30 | $1 – $5 |
| About Uncirculated | $0.30 – $0.50 | $0.30 – $0.50 | $5 – $10 |
| Mint state (60-64) | $0.50 – $1 | $0.50 – $1 | $10 – $20 |
| Mint state (65-67) | $1 – $3 | $1 – $3 | $20 – $30 |
| Mint state (68-70) | $3 – $10 + | $3 – $10 + | $30 – $50 + |
1995 Penny Value & Varieties Guide
Pennies were made in three locations in 1995. Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco produced more than thirteen billion of them. This resulted in three varieties of this coin. Continue reading to learn more about each of them.
1995 No Mint Mark Penny Value
The first variety of a 1995 penny is the one that comes from Philadelphia. These pennies do not contain a mint mark because the main US Mint didn’t use one back in the day.
If you want to sell one of the 1995 pennies without a mint mark, you cannot expect to get more than one cent to around a dollar for it unless it is in exceptional condition. If it is, you may be able to sell it online for around ten dollars.
- Type – Lincoln Memorial cent
- Edge – plain
- Mint mark – no mint mark
- Place of minting – Philadelphia
- Year of minting – 1995
- Face value – 1 cent
- Price – $0.01 – $10 +
- Quantity produced – 6 411 440 000
- Designer – Victor David Brenner (obverse); Frank Gasparro (reverse)
- Composition – zinc and copper
- Mass – 2.5 grams (0.08 ounces)
- Diameter – 19 millimeters (0.74 inches)
1995 D Mint Mark Penny Value
The second variety of a 1995 penny is the one made in the Denver mint. You can recognize it by locating the D mint mark on the obverse side of a coin, just below the year.
The Denver mint produced even more coins than the Philadelphia factory, more than seven billion, in fact. The prices that these coins sell for are pretty much the same as the pennies without a mint mark.
Most of them are only worth one cent, but they can sell for ten dollars and more if in perfect mint state.
- Type – Lincoln Memorial cent
- Edge – plain
- Mint mark – D mint mark
- Place of minting – Denver
- Year of minting – 1995
- Face value – 1 cent
- Price – $0.01 – $10 +
- Quantity produced – 7 128 560 000
- Designer – Victor David Brenner (obverse); Frank Gasparro (reverse)
- Composition – zinc and copper
- Mass – 2.5 grams (0.08 ounces)
- Diameter – 19 millimeters (0.74 inches)
1995 S Mint Mark Penny Value
The San Francisco mint produced almost three million pennies in 1995. This is a lot less than the other two factories, but unfortunately, not even 1995-S pennies are rare.
The pennies with an S mint mark from 1995 are all proof coins. This means that they are of better quality than the regular ones, so their price is slightly higher than the price of the other two varieties.
While those in poor condition can still sell for only around a cent to ten, the S pennies from 1995 in excellent condition can reach a price of fifty dollars and more.
- Type – Lincoln Memorial cent
- Edge – plain
- Mint mark – S mint mark
- Place of minting – San Francisco
- Year of minting – 1995
- Face value – 1 cent
- Price – $0.01 – $50 +
- Quantity produced – 2 797 481
- Designer – Victor David Brenner (obverse); Frank Gasparro (reverse)
- Composition – zinc and copper
- Mass – 2.5 grams (0.08 ounces)
- Diameter – 19 millimeters (0.74 inches)
1995 Penny History
The history of a US penny is a long one. It started back at the end of the 18th century when the US Mint first began operating.
The first US pennies had a woman with long hair on the front side of a coin. This design was running for more than six decades when it changed to an eagle in flight in 1857 and 1858. In 1959 the US got one of its longest-running pennies, with the popular Indian Head design.
After exactly fifty years of an Indian Head on the obverse, the US Mint replaced it with a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States. The motive for this change was a century after Lincoln’s birthday and the designer was Victor Brenner.
While the reverse of the penny featured two branches of wheat from 1909 up until 1959, it was time to honor Lincoln’s 150th birthday, so the design of the reverse was changed to the Lincoln Memorial, designed by Frank Gasparro.
In 2009, the US Mint put into circulation four reverse designs of a penny to commemorate Lincoln’s 200th birthday anniversary. Nowadays, the reverse of a penny features a shield while the obverse hasn’t changed yet.
1995 Penny Appearance
A penny from 1995 is reddish in color because it is made of zinc but coated with copper. In the middle of the coin’s obverse is Abraham Lincoln’s right-facing portrait. To his left side is the word LIBERTY and to his right side you can see the year 1995 and the mint mark if there is one.
The reverse of the coin depicts the Lincoln Memorial built in 1922 to honor the ex-president’s life in Washington D.C. On top of the monument is one of the US mottos – ET PLURIBUS UNUM, above which are the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The bottom of the coin is reserved for the denomination – ONE CENT.
1995 Penny Grading
If you are not sure what is the condition of your 1995 penny but you want to sell it, you should hire professional coin grading services to correctly determine the condition of your coin.
This will help you on a couple of levels – you will know how much your coin is worth so you don’t undersell it or oversell it and you will be aware of any special features that can make your coin stand out and interesting to collectors.
However, be aware that coin services cost $10 – $100 + so if you are certain that your 1995 penny is not special in any way consider not wasting money on grading it professionally.
1995 Penny List of Errors
Like any other factory, the US Mint makes some errors in the process of producing coins. While these mistakes are not favorable to the Mint, they are highly interesting to numismatists, which is why they are willing to pay more money for the errored coins than the regular ones.
Let’s look at some of the most common errors that you may find on your 1995 penny.
1. 1995 Penny Double Die Obverse
The double die error happens when the dies that strike to engrave the design onto a planchet accidentally strike twice. In the 1995 penny, this error is most commonly seen on the obverse of the coin. You may find it on the reverse too, but it’s rarer.
If a coin with the double die error is graded 67 and more, it can sell for as much as two to three hundred dollars. For the coins rated lower than this, the price can range from $10 to $50.
2. 1995 Penny Off-Center
When your coin is missing a part of the design it means that it probably has an off-center error. This mistake happens when the coins are not well-aligned with the dies, so when they strike, they only engrave a portion of the coin.
This error gives a coin an interesting look, which is why it can raise its price by hundreds of dollars, particularly if a coin is graded above 65.
3. 1995 Penny BIE Error
Some pennies from 1995 have a famous BIE error, in which the word LIBERTY appears to have the letter I in between the letters B and E.
You cannot expect to get hundreds for a coin with this mistake unless it has some other error as well, but you can definitely get several dollars more than if it was just a regular coin.
4. 1995 Die Breaks
Die breaks are damages on the dies. When the dies get damaged, they get cracks on them that in turn get engraved on the coins.
The pennies from 1995 with this error can cost anywhere between a dollar to several hundred dollars, depending on the severity of the mistake as well as the coin’s condition.
1995 Penny FAQ
How much is a 1995 penny worth?
A 1995 penny is typically worth just its original value. If a coin is in poor or just average condition, you cannot expect it to sell for more than half a dollar. If it is in a mint state, the prices go up and reach several dollars.
However, if it is graded 70, you can consider yourself lucky because those are pretty rare and they can reach prices of thousands of dollars.
What is the 1995 penny error?
One of the most common errors on a 1995 penny is a double die on the obverse of a coin. This means that the picture is doubled due to the mistake in the minting process. Some other errors include off-center, die breaks, and BIE errors.
How many 1995 double die pennies are there?
It’s not known how many pennies from 1995 are double die. It is estimated that around 500 000 of them were accidentally struck twice, but this number is not confirmed by the US Mint.
How can you tell if a penny is double die?
You can tell that a penny is double die if its design or at least parts of the design are doubled. It may be difficult to see this with the naked eye, so use a magnifying glass to check well.
What is the error on the obverse of a 1995 penny?
The most common error on the obverse of a 1995 penny is double die. This means that the design was struck twice instead of just once.
What’s special about the 1995 penny?
Not much! Since the US Mint produced more than 13 billion pennies in 1995, there aren’t many of them that are particularly special or valuable.
What makes a 1995 penny rare?
Your 1995 penny may be rare if it has a nearly perfect or a perfect grade, meaning 68, 69, or 70. This implies that your coin would need to look like it was literally just minted, a condition that is very rare to find after almost thirty years in circulation.
A penny from 1995 can be rare if it has a rare mint error as well.