2020 Penny Value Checker: Errors List,“D”, “S” & No Mint Mark Worth

2020 penny value ranges from $0.01 face value to $5,000. That record belongs to a coin graded 68, sold through Heritage Auctions in June 2021. Upload a photo below to get a quick value range for yours. You can also scroll down to check recent eBay sales and see what buyers are paying today.

 

2020 Penny Value By Variety

Here’s what each variety is worth across the grading scale. If you already know your coin’s grade, jump to the Value Guides section for exact pricing.

Also Read: Top 100 Most Valuable Modern Pennies Worth Money (1959 – Present)

 

Top 3 Most Valuable 2020 Penny Worth Money

The king of 2020 pennies is a Denver Mint MS68 in full Red. It hammered for $5,040 at Heritage Auctions in January 2021. Denver struck nearly 4.8 billion cents that year, so finding one this clean is like pulling a needle from a haystack the size of a football stadium. The coin’s surfaces were essentially flawless — no bag marks, no contact hits, full original luster.

A 2020-P MS69 brought $760 at Heritage the same year. Higher grade, lower price. That surprises people, but it makes sense when you realize Philadelphia coins saw less rough handling in distribution. The 2020-S PR69 DCAM rounded out the top three at $695, rewarding collectors who love that jet-black mirror field against frosty white devices.

 

History of the 2020 Penny

The 2020 penny is a Lincoln Shield cent. Designer Lyndall Bass’s Union Shield reverse debuted in 2010, replacing the Lincoln Memorial design that had run since 1959. Bass won a competitive U.S. Mint design contest, and his shield has stayed put ever since. The obverse goes back even further — Victor David Brenner created Lincoln’s portrait in 1909 for the centennial, making it one of the longest-running designs in American coinage.

What makes 2020 special isn’t a design change. It’s the pandemic. When COVID-19 lockdowns hit, coins stopped circulating. People weren’t spending cash, businesses that ran on quarters and dimes — laundromats, parking meters, vending machines — shut down. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell told the House Financial Services Committee that “the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all — it’s kind of stopped.” Daniel Socks, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, called it a “perfect storm.”

On July 23, 2020, the Federal Reserve created the U.S. Coin Task Force to tackle the shortage. Banks handed out free coin kits. Chick-fil-A offered free sandwiches for loose change. Casinos gave free slot play to customers who brought in coins. The Fed even rationed coin orders starting in June 2020. Those caps didn’t lift until 2021.

To fight the shortage, the Mint cranked up production. A combined 8.174 billion Lincoln cents rolled out in 2020 — up 11.7% from the year before. Philadelphia struck 3,605,800,000. Denver struck 4,781,800,000. San Francisco made just 823,909 collector-grade proofs.

One variety most people miss: the 2020-W. West Point struck roughly 11,000 proof pennies with a “W” mint mark, honoring the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end. These are genuinely scarce and sell for $30 to $100 or more in top grades.

Also Read: Top 100 Rarest Pennies Worth Money (1787 – Present)

 

Is Your 2020 Penny Rare?

For collectors seeking coins with genuine scarcity and investment potential, our Coin Identifier and Value App provides instant access to comprehensive rarity rankings and current market data across all series.

 

Key Features Of The 2020 Penny

The 2020 penny carries the Union Shield reverse and Lincoln’s classic portrait on a copper-plated zinc planchet. Even during pandemic-era production disruptions, the Mint held its striking standards. Here’s what to look for on each side.

The Obverse Of The 2020 Penny

Lincoln faces right in the same profile Victor David Brenner designed back in 1909 — over 115 years on the cent and still going. “IN GOD WE TRUST” curves above his head. “LIBERTY” sits behind his profile. Look to the right of Lincoln’s collar for “2020.” Flip the coin into good light and check the shoulder truncation — you’ll spot Brenner’s tiny “VDB” initials there.

The Reverse Of The 2020 Penny

Flip it over and you’ll see Lyndall Bass’s Union Shield — a nod to Lincoln holding the nation together during the Civil War. Count thirteen vertical stripes for the original colonies. A horizontal bar across the shield reads “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” arcs along the top rim, and a banner reading “ONE CENT” stretches across the shield’s midsection.

Other Features Of The 2020 Penny

The 2020 penny measures exactly 19 millimeters in diameter and weighs 2.5 grams. It’s 97.5% zinc with a 2.5% copper plating — the same formula the Mint has used since 1982, when rising copper prices killed the old solid 95% copper alloy.

Also Read: 100 Most Valuable Wheat Pennies Worth Money (1909 to 1958)

 

The Easy Way to Know Your 2020 Penny Value

Color is everything with Lincoln cents. Red (RD) means 95% or more original orange-red luster — that’s where the money is. Red-Brown (RB) means the coin has lost between 5% and 95% of that color to oxidation. Brown (BN) means less than 5% original red survives. Each step down costs you real money.

Beyond color, graders check Lincoln’s hair detail for wear, inspect the fine vertical lines on the shield for sharpness, look for contact marks in the open fields, and evaluate letter crispness in “LIBERTY” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.”

Most uncirculated 2020 pennies land in the MS60–MS65 range. MS63–MS64 is typical for coins with normal bag marks. The top-pop stuff is genuinely rare — PCGS has graded roughly 15 coins as 2020-P MS69RD and fewer than 10 as 2020-D MS69RD. Those are registry set coins.

For an accurate assessment, use our Coin Identifier and Value App to instantly check your coin’s grade and current market value.

 

2020 Penny Value Guides

Three mints, three varieties:

• 2020 No Mint Mark Shield Penny (Philadelphia Mint) — 3,605,800,000 struck
• 2020-D Shield Penny (Denver Mint) — 4,781,800,000 struck
• 2020-S DCAM Shield Penny (San Francisco Mint) — 823,909 struck

Philadelphia and Denver pumped out billions for circulation. San Francisco made proofs only — Deep Cameo specimens for collector sets. Each variety has its own mint mark (or lack of one) and its own pricing story.

Also Read: Lincoln Wheat Penny Value (1909-1958)

 

2020 No Mint Mark Shield Penny Value

Here’s a common misconception: 3.6 billion minted means nothing special. Wrong — at least at the top of the grading scale. Philadelphia pennies have never carried a “P” mint mark, so you won’t find one on these. But what you might find is a surprisingly sharp coin if you cherrypick from original bank rolls.

Pandemic slowdowns actually helped quality. Fewer coins per die meant crisper early strikes. Slower press speeds improved copper plating consistency. Quality control staff, working reduced shifts, spent more time per coin. The first pieces off fresh dies were unusually clean.

Circulated examples? Face value. Typical Mint State coins grade MS63–MS65. But the PCGS population for 2020-P MS68RD sits at roughly 200 coins. For MS69RD, only about 15 are known — that’s 0.0000004% of total mintage. One of those MS69RD coins brought $760 at Heritage Auctions in 2021. That’s a 76,000% premium over face value.

Red-Brown (RB) pieces trade 20–30% below their RD counterparts. Brown (BN) specimens are the cheapest way into the series.

Also Read: Value Of Old Pennies By Year (1959-Present)

 

2020-D Shield Penny Value

How does the mint that struck 1.18 billion more pennies than Philadelphia end up with the most valuable coin? Condition rarity. Denver’s massive output flooded commercial channels. More coins got dumped into counting machines, tossed into registers, and bounced around in bags. By the time collectors could pull them, the damage was done.

PCGS has slabbed roughly 150 coins as 2020-D MS68RD. Fewer than 10 exist at MS69RD. That scarcity pushed a single MS68RD to $5,040 at Heritage Auctions in January 2021 — the most expensive business-strike 2020 penny ever sold at auction.

If you’re hunting Denver cents, I think color preservation is the biggest challenge. Fresh off the press, these coins glow orange-red. But copper starts oxidizing within hours. Once 5% to 95% of that original red fades, the coin drops to Red-Brown (RB) — anything from warm orange patches to deep chocolate toning. Below 5% original red, it’s Brown (BN). Keep your coins in a cool, dry spot. Professional encapsulation in inert plastic slabs is the best long-term protection.

 

2020-S DCAM Shield Penny Value

Only 823,909 proof pennies came out of San Francisco in 2020. That’s less than 0.02% of Denver’s output. These were never meant for pocket change — they went straight into collector proof sets.

The 2019 proofs had been a disaster. Collectors complained about orange blemishes, rim tarnishing, and rust-like spots on their 2019-W cents. Entire proof sets got returned. San Francisco fixed two things for 2020. First, they ditched the loose poly bags and switched to precision-engineered protective capsules — no more coins rattling against packaging material. Second, they upgraded die preparation with fine chemical etching for deeper frost and diamond compound polishing for sharper mirror fields.

The result is textbook Deep Cameo: jet-black mirrors surrounding stark-white frosted devices. We think these are some of the best-looking modern proofs the Mint has produced. The PCGS PR70DCAM population tops 3,000 coins, since careful collector handling keeps survival rates high. PR69DCAM is the most common top grade. A PR69DCAM has sold for $695, while PR68DCAM examples typically go for $10–$16.

San Francisco also struck Cameo (CAM) examples — a step below DCAM in contrast. Color designations (RD, RB, BN) apply to proofs too, with RD pulling the highest premiums.

Also Read: Top 100 Most Valuable Modern Pennies Worth Money (1959 – Present)

 

Rare 2020 Penny Error List

Every error type below has been confirmed on 2020 Lincoln cents. Die variety specialist John Wexler of Wexler’s Die Variety News has catalogued several doubled die varieties for this year. If you’re cherrypicking rolls, these are what to hunt for.

1. Doubled Die Obverse (DDO) and Doubled Die Reverse (DDR) Errors

A DDO happens when the working die gets a misaligned second hubbing, doubling part of the design. On 2020 pennies, look at Lincoln’s eye, the date numerals, and “LIBERTY.” The strongest examples show doubling you can spot without magnification.

DDR varieties show the same effect on the shield elements and “E PLURIBUS UNUM” text. Strong DDO and DDR examples on 2020 cents sell for $25 to $150 depending on the spread. The most dramatic ones are listed in Wexler’s Die Variety News registry.

2. Off-Center Strike Errors

When the planchet isn’t centered between the dies at the moment of striking, part of the design goes missing and you get a crescent of blank metal. Minor off-center strikes of 5–10% add $10–$25. The real prizes are 50% or more off-center with the date still showing — those bring $100 to $300. Coins approaching 80–90% off-center with a visible date are the rarest in this series.

3. Wrong Planchet Errors

These are the showstoppers. A 2020 penny struck on a Roosevelt dime planchet is immediately obvious — smaller diameter, silver-colored, clad instead of copper-plated zinc. You can’t miss it.

Wrong planchet errors are rare on any modern coin. Confirmed examples on 2020 cents fetch $300 to $600 or more at auction. Heritage Auctions and Stack’s Bowers are the main houses handling significant modern Lincoln cent errors.

4. Misaligned Die (MAD) Errors

Hold your penny and flip it top to bottom. Both sides should be upright. If the reverse is rotated, you’ve got a MAD error. Minor rotations of 15–45 degrees add $8–$20. A quarter-turn (90 degrees) or half-turn (180 degrees) is much more desirable — those can bring $40–$150 depending on the exact rotation.

5. Repunched Mint Mark (RPM) Errors

On 2020-D pennies, look at the “D” under magnification. Some dies received the mint mark punch twice with a slight offset, leaving a ghosted or doubled “D.” These D/D RPM varieties have been documented.

RPM varieties typically sell for $15–$50 for well-defined examples. Great starter error coins. A 5x–10x loupe is all you need to spot them.

6. Weak Strike and Filled Die Errors

Weak strikes come from low striking pressure or tired dies. On 2020 pennies, Lincoln’s hair detail, facial features, and the fine vertical shield lines are the first things to go soft.

Filled die errors (also called “die clogs”) happen when grease or debris plugs a recessed area of the die. The metal can’t flow into that spot, so you get a mushy blank area on the finished coin. Partial missing details add $5–$12. Dramatic examples where major portrait or shield elements vanish can reach $25–$60.

7. Planchet Defect Errors

These are flaws in the blank itself. Clipped planchets result from incomplete punching of the metal strip — you’ll see a curved or straight bite out of the coin’s edge. Lamination errors happen when the zinc core separates from the copper plating, creating visible peeling or flaking.

Straight clips affecting 5–15% of the coin sell for $10–$25. Curved clips or multiple clips bring $30–$80. Lamination errors with metal peeling away generally command $8–$30, with larger affected areas pulling higher premiums.

Also Read: 42 Rare Penny Errors List with Pictures (By Year)

 

Where to Sell Your 2020 Penny

Understanding your 2020 penny’s potential value is just the foundation — successfully converting these modern rarities into cash requires choosing the right marketplace. The best platforms depend on the type of coin you have.

Check out now: Best Places To Sell Coins Online (Pros & Cons) 

 

2020 Penny Market Trend

*Market Trend Chart showing the number of people paying attention to this coin.

 

FAQ About the 2020 Penny Value

1. Which 2020 pennies are worth collecting?

Three categories. First, high-grade Red (RD) coins graded MS67 or above — the PCGS MS69RD population is only ~15 coins for Philadelphia and fewer than 10 for Denver. Second, 2020-S DCAM proofs, especially PR69DCAM and PR70DCAM. Third, confirmed errors — DDO varieties, off-center strikes, wrong planchet errors, and RPMs — worth $25 to $600 depending on type and severity.

2. Why did the 2020-D penny sell for $5,040 when Denver made more coins than Philadelphia?

It’s all about condition rarity. Denver struck 4.78 billion pennies versus Philadelphia’s 3.61 billion, but Denver’s bigger output went into rougher commercial channels. More handling damage, more bag marks, more coins ruined before collectors could save them. That makes a pristine MS68RD Denver cent statistically harder to find than a Philadelphia equivalent — and that’s exactly why it brought $5,040 at Heritage Auctions in January 2021.

3. What distinguishes 2020-S proof pennies from regular circulation strikes?

San Francisco proofs are struck on polished dies using specially prepared planchets, hit multiple times at slow speed. The result: mirror-like fields and frosty white devices. Deep Cameo (DCAM) is the highest cameo designation, awarded when that contrast is at its peak. Unlike circulation strikes, these went straight into protective capsules and never saw a cash register. Most survive in top condition. A PR69DCAM example has sold for $695.

4. How do I tell if my 2020 penny has a Doubled Die error?

Grab a 5x–10x loupe and check three spots on the obverse: Lincoln’s eye, the date “2020,” and “LIBERTY.” Strong DDO varieties show clearly separated doubling in those areas. For DDR, flip it over and examine the shield’s vertical stripes and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” Confirmed varieties are catalogued in Wexler’s Die Variety News. Strong examples sell for $25–$150.

5. What do the color designations RD, RB, and BN mean for 2020 penny values?

RD (Red) = 95% or more original orange-red luster. That’s the top tier. RB (Red-Brown) = 5% to 95% original red remaining, a mix of orange and brown toning — worth 20–30% less than RD at the same numerical grade. BN (Brown) = less than 5% original red — the lowest color tier, though still above face value in high Mint State grades. PCGS and NGC assign these designations and print them on the slab.

6. Are 2020 pennies made of real copper?

Not really. It’s 97.5% zinc with a thin 2.5% copper plating. The Mint switched from solid 95% copper in 1982 when copper prices made the old composition too expensive. Quick way to tell: a pre-1982 penny weighs 3.11 grams, a post-1982 cent weighs 2.5 grams.

7. How do I know if my 2020 penny is proof or business strike?

Hold it under a light. A proof coin’s fields act like a mirror — you can literally see your reflection. The devices (Lincoln’s portrait, the shield) look frosty white. A business strike from Philadelphia or Denver has a satin or slightly glossy surface but lacks that intense contrast. Proof 2020 pennies also carry an “S” mint mark under the date. Philadelphia issues have no mint mark. Denver issues show a “D.”

8. What auction houses sell high-value 2020 pennies?

Heritage Auctions and Stack’s Bowers are the two main players. Heritage recorded the top result: a 2020-D MS68RD at $5,040 in January 2021 and a 2020-P MS69RD at $760 the same year. For slabbed error coins — DDO, off-center, wrong planchet — both houses reach the widest pool of specialist buyers and consistently beat eBay or dealer-offer prices.

9. How should I store my 2020 penny to preserve its Red (RD) color designation?

Never touch a coin with bare fingers — skin oils accelerate toning fast. Use coin flips made from inert (non-PVC) polyethylene or Mylar. Avoid PVC holders — they release gases that cause green spotting over time. For premium coins, professional encapsulation by PCGS or NGC is the gold standard. The sealed inert environment inside the slab dramatically slows oxidation. Keep everything in a cool, dry spot away from humidity and temperature swings.