1963 Lincoln Penny Value Guide
The 1963 Lincoln penny is made of 95% copper while the remainder is 5% tin or zinc. The same composition is used for Lincoln pennies made from 1909 to 1942 and from 1944 to 1982.
Then, from 1982 to the present, the Lincoln penny is made of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper.
The Lincoln penny was first struck in 1909.At that time, the reverse features two stalks of wheat. That’s the reason why Lincoln pennies from 1909 to 1958 were commonly referred to as “wheat pennies.”
After 1958, the reverse was redesigned to depict the front view of the Lincoln Memorial. The design was used until 2010 when the reverse was changed to the Union Shield by Lyndall Bass.
To learn more about the 1963 Lincoln penny, here are some of its specifications: Value: 1 cent,mass: 2.5 g,Diameter: 19.05 mm,Edge: Plain, Years of minting: 1909 up to present.
The 1963 Lincoln penny was designed by two artists. The obverse was designed by Victor David Brenner and the reverse was designed by Frank Gasparro.
Designers were allowed to add their initials to the design. However, when the Lincoln penny was released in 1909, Brenner’s initials, which is VDB, were seen to be too big that it was hard to look.
As a result, the initials were removed just after a few days.The initials of Brenner would then be restored in 1918, this time, the initials were smaller.
It’s quite interesting to note that Brenner wasn’t really the first choice for the design. Originally, it was Augustus Saint-Gaudens who was tasked to do it.