1999 Wide AM Lincoln Cent

Specifications

Denomination: 1 cent
Series: Lincoln cent — Memorial reverse
Designer: Victor David Brenner
Engraver: Frank Gasparro
Years of issue: 1999
Composition: 2.5% Copper, 97.5% Zinc
Weight: 2.5 g
Diameter: 19 mm
Edge: Plain
Key mintages: Small, unknown number struck; from 1993 to 2008 business strikes were supposed to show the Close AM reverse (PCGS; Heritage)

Melt value: $0.00prices as of Sep 16, 2026

United States Mint / Wikimedia Commons

A proof reverse die slipped into Philadelphia’s 1999 production — a clear gap between the A and M marks the scarcest of the three Wide AM years.

History

In 1998, 1999, and 2000, the Mint inadvertently used reverse dies intended for proof coinage as business-strike dies, creating the Wide AM circulation varieties (Numismatic News, quoting CONECA). The 1999 Wide AM is a Philadelphia business strike with no mintmark (PCGS; Heritage)
The Wide AM die was intended for San Francisco proofs (Heritage). From 1993 to 2008, business-strike cents were supposed to show the Close AM reverse, so any clear gap in the AM marks the coin as a variety (PCGS)
The planchet is copper-plated zinc at 2.50 g and 19.00 mm (PCGS)

The 1999 is the scarcest of the three Wide AM years (GreatCollections)
As of 2009, PCGS’s Jaime Hernandez noted the coin commanded over $100 even in the lowest grades, several hundred dollars in mint state, about $1,000 in MS66, about $2,000 in MS67, and about $4,000 and up in MS68 (PCGS)

The Wide AM die was intended for San Francisco proofs but struck a small, unknown number of circulation coins at the Philadelphia Mint (Heritage)

1. On the reverse, look at the A and M of AMERICA: a wide, clearly separated spacing identifies the Wide AM, while normal 1999 business strikes have the letters close together (Numismatic News; PCGS). 2. Check the designer’s FG initials, which sit closer to the Memorial building than on the normal reverse (Numismatic News). 3. Confirm the coin is a no-mintmark Philadelphia business strike (PCGS)