Roll Search Wednesday-What to Look For in Rolls of Cents

In this next installment of Roll Search Wednesday, the Numismatic Hub would like to share with all of our readers a detailed guide for coins to look for when searching through rolls of cents. Cents seem to be the most popular denomination when it comes to roll searching do to the price per roll (.50) and the fact that basically all banks will have rolls available for purchase.


If you’re new to this whole roll searching thing, you can refer back to our past “Roll Search Wednesday” posts for some tips and tricks to properly roll search and how to search efficiently. If you have done all of your necessary reading, get out the white gloves and the loupe and lets get ready to crack open some rolls!

Wheat Cents- Probably the most common “treasure” that can be found in a roll of cents is the Wheat Cent. Wheat Cents are dated from 1909 to 1958 and the reverse of the coin adorned by two wheat stalks. Most common date Wheat Cents in circulated condition are worth about 3 cents each.

1909-S VDB- The rarest Wheat Cent is the 1909-S VDB, VDB coming from the designer, Victor David Brenner’s initials being displayed on the reverse between the wheat stalks. With a mintage of only 484,000, the 1909-S VDB can be worth from hundreds of dollars in low grades to thousands of dollars in mint state grades.

1914-D- Considered the second rarest cent is the 1914-D wheat cent. With a mintage of just over 1,000,000 coins, the 1914-D has a far higher mintage than the 1909-S VDB. Although the 1914-D is considered the second rarest wheat cent, it does not hold the same prestige as the aforementioned coin. Mint State examples of the 1914-D are quite hard to come by due to the fact that these coins saw a lot of circulation. Mint State examples have sold for upwards of $26,000.

1984 “Double Ear”- A very cool and little known about variety is the 1984 Double Ear Lincoln Cent. It is called the “Double Ear” variety due to the fact that it looks like Lincoln has two ear lobes. The doubling of the ear lobe can be clearly seen directly under Lincoln’s ear. This is a great variety to look out for while roll searching because the variety is little known and 1984 cents are an abundant sight in pocket change and rolls. The double ear can range in price from $100 in lower grades to upwards of $1000 in examples that are uncirculated.

1955 Double Die- Considered the greatest Double Die on any coin is the double die seen on the obverse of the 1955 Wheat Cent. Every aspect of the obverse of the coin is doubled, from the date to “In God We Trust” are clearly doubled and the doubling is visible to the naked eye. The 1955 Double Die is highly popular world wide and at the time of its discovery became highly publicized. Finding one of these in a roll of cents would be truly spectacular but looking out for it can never hurt.

These are just a couple of things to look out for while searching through rolls of cents. If you come across anything that looks different while searching put it aside, it can turn out to be something special. Look out for our next installment of Roll Search Wednesday, when we take a look at rolls of nickels!