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Mind Boggling Lincoln Cent Total Mintage ….Misinformation!

ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,953 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited August 29, 2025 6:09PM in U.S. Coin Forum

55,420,900,000,000,000 …. That’s 55 Quadrillion. Ponder that. Info off the web!

Comments

  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    that's a lot of couches

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,754 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I think someone forgot to hit the add button after the '37-D.

    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
  • Rc5280Rc5280 Posts: 689 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If placed end to end, how many miles long would they be?
    How many times around the Earth?

  • jesbrokenjesbroken Posts: 10,641 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I know now while there are no pickle jars to be found.
    Jim


    When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln

    Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
  • pcgsregistrycollectorpcgsregistrycollector Posts: 1,602 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Rc5280 said:
    If placed end to end, how many miles long would they be?
    How many times around the Earth?

    Summary of the penny line according to ChatGPT:

    • 656 billion miles long
    • 26.3 million times around Earth
    • 2.7 million trips to the Moon
    • 7,000 trips to the Sun

    God comes first in everything I do. I’m dedicated to serving Him with my whole life. Coin collecting is just a hobby—but even in that, I seek to honor Him. ✝️

  • WaterSportWaterSport Posts: 6,928 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Another example as to why Hoarding makes no sense.
    WS

    Proud recipient of the coveted PCGS Forum "You Suck" Award Thursday July 19, 2007 11:33 PM and December 30th, 2011 at 8:50 PM.
  • fluffy155fluffy155 Posts: 289 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 29, 2025 4:29PM

    I think that number is a bit off. Mintages maxed out at 17 billion in 1982, the total should be closer to 3/4 trillion overall.

  • WinLoseWinWinLoseWin Posts: 1,717 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @fluffy155 said:
    I think that number is a bit off. Mintages maxed out at 17 billion in 1982, the total should be closer to 3/4 trillion overall.

    Yes, the OP number is overstated by a factor of about 50,000 times or so.

    "To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin

  • SanctionIISanctionII Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have pondered the data in the OP and elucidate further thus:

    First - 55,420,900,000,000 cents is 55 separate piles of 1,000 Trillion cents, plus 420 separate piles of 1,000 Billion Cents, plus 900 separate piles of 1,000 Million cents (or 110,841,800,000,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Second - 1 Quadrillion cents is 1,000 Trillion cents (or 20,000,000,000,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Third - 1 Trillion cents is 1,000 Billion cents (or 20,000,000,000 roles of 50 cents)

    Fourth - 1 Billion cents is 1,000 Million cents (or 20,000,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Fifth - 1 Million cents is 1,000 Thousand cents (or 20,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Sixth - 1 Thousand cents is 1,000 cents (or 20 rolls of 50 cents).

    Is my math correct? If so does the above make cents :) (sense)?

    The Lincoln cent has been minted for 117 years (1909-2025). Dividing 55,420,900,000,000 cents by 117 years results in an average per year mintage of 473,682,900,000 cents per year being minted.

    Is that math correct?

    If so, it seems like a total mintage of 55,420,900,000,000 over 117 years is way too high. I do not recall mintage figures for the Lincoln cent during the 1990-1958 time period being even remotely close to an average of 473,682,900,000 per year.

    My head hurts after all of the pondering I have been doing since I opened this thread.

  • The_Dinosaur_ManThe_Dinosaur_Man Posts: 1,107 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Looks like we will soon settle a years old debate about who has been on a coin more - Elizabeth II or Abraham Lincoln

    Custom album maker and numismatic photographer.
    Need a personalized album made? Design it on the website below and I'll build it for you.
    https://www.donahuenumismatics.com/.

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 36,966 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 29, 2025 5:31PM

    @SanctionII said:
    I have pondered the data in the OP and elucidate further thus:

    First - 55,420,900,000,000 cents is 55 separate piles of 1,000 Trillion cents, plus 420 separate piles of 1,000 Billion Cents, plus 900 separate piles of 1,000 Million cents (or 110,841,800,000,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Second - 1 Quadrillion cents is 1,000 Trillion cents (or 20,000,000,000,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Third - 1 Trillion cents is 1,000 Billion cents (or 20,000,000,000 roles of 50 cents)

    Fourth - 1 Billion cents is 1,000 Million cents (or 20,000,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Fifth - 1 Million cents is 1,000 Thousand cents (or 20,000 rolls of 50 cents).

    Sixth - 1 Thousand cents is 1,000 cents (or 20 rolls of 50 cents).

    Is my math correct? If so does the above make cents :) (sense)?

    The Lincoln cent has been minted for 117 years (1909-2025). Dividing 55,420,900,000,000 cents by 117 years results in an average per year mintage of 473,682,900,000 cents per year being minted.

    Is that math correct?

    If so, it seems like a total mintage of 55,420,900,000,000 over 117 years is way too high. I do not recall mintage figures for the Lincoln cent during the 1990-1958 time period being even remotely close to an average of 473,682,900,000 per year.

    My head hurts after all of the pondering I have been doing since I opened this thread.

    The OP is way off in his math. The easiest illustration of that is dividing his number by 117, as you did. That yields a number almost 50,000x higher than the largest mintage year.

    You do have one mistake. You used 55 trillion not Quadrillion. 55 Quadrillion is 55,000,000,000,000,000

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.

  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,953 ✭✭✭✭✭

  • TomBTomB Posts: 22,097 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I don't care what you screenshot. The math is way off and fairly obviously so, as well.

    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 36,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ambro51 said:

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.

  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,953 ✭✭✭✭✭

    YES. I totally agree the huge number quoted in the first article is absurd. Please direct all complaints to the website that said it. :D:D

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 36,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ambro51 said:

    I've got a link that will allow you to make millions of dollars helping out an African price.

    Think about it. To get to 55 Quadrillion, you'd need to mint 550 trillion coins per year for 100 years. There isn't even a year that gets within one 10,000th of that number.

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 36,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ambro51 said:
    YES. I totally agree the huge number quoted in the first article is absurd. Please direct all complaints to the website that said it. :D:D

    We will. They will probably be a unwilling to take responsibility for saying it as you are. 😄

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.

  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 29, 2025 5:55PM

    took numbers off wikipedia up to 2022 and tried to exclude proof and obvious mint sets

    up to and incl 2022: 550,000,000,000

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    412,149,697,603.50 6,504,887.90 0.06997512806
    inches miles distance to sun

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    821.5316878
    times around earth

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • JBKJBK Posts: 16,491 ✭✭✭✭✭

    How many WalMart parking lots would those pave? 🤔

  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    45,794,410,844.83

    pcgs boxes (9" as taken from Wizard Coin Supply)

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    i get 2,146,613,008.35 sq ft

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    At the peak of its parking investment, Walmart was building 6 parking spaces per thousand square feet of store. “Now we’re willing to have as low as 4 spaces per thousand,” said Clark. “That means on a big store, we went from 1,200 to 800 spaces.

    https://sightline.org/2021/12/16/yes-even-walmart-wants-to-build-smaller-parking-lots

    While there is probably not a standard-sized parking
    space, many parking lots are designed with parking
    spaces that are 10 feet by 18 feet (180 square feet).

    https://utia.tennessee.edu/cpa/wp-content/uploads/sites/106/2020/10/CPA-222.pdf

    14,907 lots at least

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'm not computing the weight of all the zincolns if they rotted to zinc oxide

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    and i'll leave the weight calc to someone else, but it's a lot of wire and galvanization

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 29, 2025 7:22PM

    i was bored!

    1,473,382,680,617.26 3,248,198,149.51 1,624,099.07

    grams pounds avp-tons

    estimated 1982 ratio because i didn't readily find metal specific mintage figures

    trivia - that's 1.47 teragrams. scare your friends!

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • rooksmithrooksmith Posts: 1,114 ✭✭✭✭

    @MsMorrisine said:
    i was bored!

    1,473,382,680,617.26 3,248,198,149.51 1,624,099.07

    grams pounds avp-tons

    estimated 1982 ratio because i didn't readily find metal specific mintage figures

    trivia - that's 1.47 teragrams. scare your friends!

    What's the melt value of that?

    “When you don't know what you're talking about, it's hard to know when you're finished.” - Tommy Smothers
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    7,916,832,086.52 5,495,329,301.38
    melt in dollars face in dollars

    this is up to and incl 2022

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • braddickbraddick Posts: 24,885 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ambro51 said:
    YES. I totally agree the huge number quoted in the first article is absurd. Please direct all complaints to the website that said it. :D:D

    Nope. In this case lets direct all complaints to the member who reposted it. :disappointed:

    On a side note: What is the percentage of all the cents (pennies) minted that are dated 1909-S VDB?

    peacockcoins

  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 36,092 ✭✭✭✭✭

    0.0000881%

    up to and incl 2022

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • MJPHELANMJPHELAN Posts: 801 ✭✭✭

    I asked Grok, there have been 676 billion Lincoln pennies minted so far.

    Mark
  • Russell12Russell12 Posts: 460 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jmlanzaf said:

    You do have one mistake.

    your one mistake is paying attention to ChatGPT

  • safari_dudesafari_dude Posts: 181 ✭✭✭

    My dog just asked how many pennies this would be in ‘dog money’……🤪

  • GoldbullyGoldbully Posts: 17,991 ✭✭✭✭✭


    This man is paying off his speeding ticket with 22,000 pennies.


    To find the length of 22,000 pennies laid end to end, you must use the diameter of a single penny. A modern US penny has a diameter of 0.75 inches. Here's the calculation: Find the total length in inches: Multiply the number of pennies by the diameter of one penny.22,000 pennies (\times ) 0.75 inches/penny = 16,500 inches. Convert the total inches to feet: Divide the total inches by 12 (since there are 12 inches in a foot).16,500 inches / 12 inches/foot = 1,375 feet 22,000 pennies laid in a single line, end to end, would be 1,375 feet long......or put simply, a little over a quarter mile.

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