Why Is the 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent Worth More Today?

The 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent is a San Francisco-minted penny with a raised "7" in its date, a small detail that makes it noticeably scarcer than its Large Date twin from the same year. Collectors search for it because the difference is easy to spot once you know what to look for, and because that tiny date quirk can turn a one-cent coin into something worth $50 or more in the right grade.

Most people who find one didn't go looking for it. It usually turns up mixed in with old rolls, inherited jars of change, or a grandparent's coffee can of pennies. That's part of what makes this variety fun to hunt: it hides in plain sight.

What Makes the 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent Different?

The 1970-S Small Date is a Lincoln Memorial cent struck at the San Francisco Mint in both regular business-strike and proof versions. It shares the same Victor D. Brenner obverse portrait of Abraham Lincoln and Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse used on every Memorial cent, but a subtle die change during production gave some 1970-S coins a slightly different date style.

The coin itself is standard in every physical way. It weighs 3.11 grams, measures 19.00 millimeters across, has a plain edge, and is struck from 95% copper and 5% zinc, the same alloy used for nearly all Lincoln cents before the 1982 copper-to-zinc switch. Nothing about the size or weight sets it apart. The value comes entirely from that one design detail in the date.

How Do You Tell a 1970-S Small Date From a Large Date Penny?

The fastest way to tell them apart is to look at the top of the "7" in the date. On the Small Date, the top of the 7 lines up with, or nearly touches, the tops of the 1, 9, and 0 next to it. On the Large Date, that 7 sits noticeably lower than the other digits.

A few other clues back this up once you know to look for them.

• The 9 in the Small Date often looks sharper and curves slightly toward the 7, while the Large Date's 9 points more straight down
• LIBERTY tends to look weaker on the Small Date, especially at the tops of the E and Y
• Collectors nicknamed this variety the "High 7" because of how far that digit sits up in the date
• Weak LIBERTY on its own is not a sign of wear or damage, it's a known trait of how this variety was struck

That last point trips people up. A soft LIBERTY looks like a worn coin at first glance, but on the Small Date it's just how the design came out of the die. Don't mistake it for a low-grade coin before checking the date style.

How Rare Is the 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent?

The Small Date is genuinely scarce next to the Large Date, though it isn't a needle-in-a-haystack rarity. One major reference puts it at roughly 10% to 15% of the total 1970-S mintage, with an estimated 60 to 70 million business strikes and 250,000 to 300,000 proofs carrying the Small Date style.

Those numbers sound big for a "rare" coin, and that's the point worth understanding. This isn't a coin where only a handful exist. It's a coin where the vast majority of 1970-S cents you'll ever run across are the common Large Date, and only a smaller slice carry the higher-value Small Date style. Scarcity here is relative, and grade matters just as much as the variety itself. PCGS describes the Small Date as scarce in MS66RD and genuinely rare once you get to MS67RD or better, which is where prices start to climb fast.

How Much Is a 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent Worth?

A worn 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent found in pocket change is usually worth a modest premium over face value, not a windfall. The real money is in uncirculated and proof examples with strong color and a confirmed date attribution.

These figures come from published price guides and act as a benchmark, not a fixed price. Actual sale prices swing based on how sharp the strike is, whether the copper still shows its original red color instead of fading to brown, and whether a third-party grading service has confirmed the Small Date attribution. A coin with strong red color and a well-documented grade will consistently outsell an unattributed coin that merely looks similar.

Copper itself carries almost no scrap value at current prices. At the time of writing, base metal copper (XCU) spot sits near $0 per ounce in bullion terms, so a 1970-S cent's worth comes entirely from its date, condition, and collector demand, not its metal content. That's a useful reminder that not every old coin is a bullion play. Some, like this one, are pure collector items.

What Are the Biggest Misconceptions About This Coin?

The most common mistake is assuming "Small Date" refers to the physical size of the coin. It doesn't. Every 1970-S cent, Small Date or Large Date, is the same standard 19mm penny weighing 3.11 grams. "Small Date" only describes the size and position of the numbers stamped into the date.

A second misconception is thinking every 1970-S cent is automatically valuable. The Large Date is common and typically worth close to face value in worn condition. Only the Small Date carries the meaningful premium, which is exactly why sellers sometimes mislabel Large Date coins to bump up the asking price.

A third mix-up involves the proof and business-strike versions. People assume they're equally rare, but they aren't quite the same story. The proof Small Date is scarce on its own, while the business-strike Small Date, minted for circulation, is separately and actively collected. Both matter, but for different reasons and different price points.

This is also a good moment to draw a line between bullion coins and collector coins in general. A bullion coin's price tracks the metal inside it. A coin like the 1970-S Small Date is valued almost entirely for its rarity and condition instead, closer to how bullion and collector coins differ more broadly across the hobby. Knowing which category a coin falls into changes how you should think about buying, holding, or selling it.

How Can You Verify a 1970-S Small Date Before Buying It?

Confirm the date style with your own eyes before trusting a seller's label, since misattributed coins are common in this series. Hold the coin under good light, or zoom in on a clear photo, and check whether the top of the 7 lines up with the 1, 9, and 0.

If you're paying more than a small premium for a Small Date example, a third-party grading service report is worth the cost. Misattribution happens often enough in this series that a professional opinion protects you from overpaying for a coin that turns out to be a Large Date with a hopeful label.

What Should You Know Before Selling a 1970-S Small Date Cent?

Selling a 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent starts with getting an honest read on its grade and color, since those two factors swing the price far more than most sellers expect. A brown, worn example and a red, uncirculated example of the exact same variety can sell for wildly different amounts.

If you have a jar of old pennies and think one might be a Small Date, it's worth sorting through them with a magnifier before assuming they're all worthless. Our team works with graded and raw coins alike, and as an NGC authorized dealer we can help walk a promising coin through the grading process so you know what you actually have before you sell it. For coins you're ready to part with now, selling coins for cash is straightforward whether you bring them in person to our Salem, Oregon location or ship them to us using our mail-in service from anywhere in the country.

How Does This Variety Compare to Other Famous Lincoln Cent Date Styles?

The 1970-S isn't the only Lincoln cent with a Small Date versus Large Date story, and that's part of why it appeals to variety hunters. The 1960 cent has its own well-known Small Date and Large Date split, and collectors chasing this hobby often end up studying the 1982 Small Date Lincoln Cent next, since it follows a similar logic of tiny date differences driving big price gaps.

Zooming out further, date and design variety hunting runs through the entire history of small cents. Anyone drawn to spotting these differences on Memorial cents often ends up just as interested in older series, including the Indian Head Cent key dates from 1859 to 1909, where mint marks and low mintages create their own premium coins hiding in old collections.

Why Does Grade and Color Matter So Much for This Coin?

Grade and color matter more for the 1970-S Small Date than for most common-date pennies because the variety already carries a built-in premium, and condition multiplies it. A circulated example might bring only a small amount over face value, but the same coin in gem uncirculated red condition can sell for many times that.

The takeaway for anyone building a set: buy the best color and grade you can afford within your budget, and always confirm the date style independently rather than trusting a listing title alone.

Selling and buying advice aside, this coin is a genuinely good teaching example for new collectors. It shows how a one-digit difference in a date, something most people would never notice, can separate a common penny from a coin worth real money. That's the kind of detail that turns casual coin jar sorting into an actual hobby.

If you're building out a Lincoln cent set or just want to see what's currently in stock, take a look through our coin shop for graded and raw pieces alike. And if you've got old cents, rolls, or other coins you're ready to sell, you can mail them in through our secure shipping process or stop by our Salem, Oregon location in person, whichever is easier for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Lincoln Cent Resource - 1970-S Small Date Diagnostics
2. PCGS CoinFacts - 1970-S Small Date Cent Listings and Scarcity Notes
3. Greysheet - 1970-S Cent Pricing Data
4. USA Coin Book - 1970-S Small Date High 7 Value Guide