Key Dates by Popular U.S. Coin Series
Lincoln Cents (1909–Present)
1909-S VDB – The most famous Lincoln cent; only 484,000 struck before the designer’s initials were removed.
1914-D – The scarcest Denver Mint wheat cent.
1931-S – Depression-era issue with a low mintage of 866,000.
1943 Bronze (Copper) Error – Accidentally struck on bronze planchets instead of steel; extremely rare and valuable.
Washington Quarters (1932–Present)
1932-D and 1932-S – The key dates of the series due to very low mintages.
1937 Doubled Die Obverse – A major variety prized by error collectors.
1964 and Earlier – Not key dates individually, but all are 90% silver, adding intrinsic value.
Morgan Silver Dollars (1878–1921)
1893-S – The rarest regular-issue Morgan dollar.
1889-CC – Highly desirable Carson City issue.
1895 Proof – Known as a proof-only date; no business strikes were issued.
Peace Silver Dollars (1921–1935)
1921 High Relief – First year of issue and the only high-relief Peace dollar.
1928-P – Lowest mintage of the series (360,649 coins).
1934-S – Particularly scarce in higher uncirculated grades.
Other Famous U.S. Key Dates
1916-D Mercury Dime – Only 264,000 minted.
1877 Indian Head Cent – One of the most desirable 19th-century cents.
1913 Liberty Head Nickel – Only five known specimens exist.
