Rare 1991 Penny Errors (List & Pictures)
A 1991 cent struck over a finished dime preserves both Lincoln and Roosevelt and brought $747.50 in 2006. A later comparison, a 2001 cent over a dime, sold for $1,320 in September 2025.
These twelve groups of 1991 penny errors have estimated values of $2–$2,500. Begin by identifying the metal and edge, then separate extra strikes from small marks carried by the dies.
| Visible feature | Category | Estimated value |
|---|---|---|
| Dime detail beneath the cent design | Cent over a finished dime | $700–$2,500 |
| Dime metal without an earlier design | Unused dime blank | $400–$1,500 |
| Exposed gray zinc | Missing copper plating | $50–$700 |
| Curved missing metal | Clip | $15–$200 |
| Expanded outline or stepped edge | Broadstrike or partial collar | $15–$400 |
| Blank area beside incomplete designs | Off-center strike | $20–$500 |
| Two displaced impressions | Double strike | $50–$600 |
| Backward recessed details | Partial brockage | $150–$1,000 |
| Locally missing detail | Strike-through | $5–$350 |
| Raised bar or broad elevation | Broken or sunken die | $2–$300 |
| Memorial traces near Lincoln | Clashed dies | $10–$150 |
| Repeated date, hair, or back detail | Doubled dies | $2–$150 |
The normal Memorial cent has thin copper plating over zinc, weighs 2.50 g, and measures 19.05 mm with a plain edge. A standard clad dime instead weighs about 2.268 g and measures 17.91 mm, with pale outer layers bonded around copper.
Record accessible coins with a scale, calipers, and a 10× magnifier without cleaning them. Use grading records and photographs when a specimen remains sealed.
1. 1991 Penny Roosevelt beneath Lincoln: 1991 Cent Struck Over a Finished Dime Error
A previously struck dime entered the cent press, so traces of its original design remain under Lincoln and the Memorial. On the recorded example, Roosevelt faces toward the lower left when Lincoln is upright.
The cent date reads 1991 despite partially missing lower portions. The auction calls the host a 1991-P dime, although its final date digit is unreadable.
How to Identify
Find a feature belonging specifically to the dime, such as Roosevelt or the torch, and trace it beneath the cent details. Keep the readable cent date separate from the partly obscured dime date.
The host’s layered metal and weight should fit a dime rather than a normal zinc cent. A second strike can enlarge the outline, so the finished diameter need not equal that of an ordinary dime.
What It’s Worth
Comparable pieces have an estimated $700–$2,500 range, depending on condition and the visibility of both designs. A recognizable portrait pair can make the error particularly appealing.
The ANACS MS63 example sold for $747.50 on April 29, 2006. A 2001 cent over a 2001-P dime brought $1,320 in September 2025, a later different-year comparison.
2. 1991 Penny Lincoln on an Unused Dime Disc: 1991 Wrong-Blank Cent Error
A cent design may run short of room on a silver-colored disc intended for a dime. In this wrong-blank error, the disc had not yet received Roosevelt’s design.
The dime blank’s bonded metal layers differ from copper plating over zinc. That construction helps separate the error from a stripped or plated ordinary penny.
How to Identify
Start with weight and metal rather than color, then inspect how the cent design fits the smaller starting blank. Its final width can increase during striking.
Look for a copper center between pale outer layers at the edge, but do not require the grooves of a finished dime. Surviving Roosevelt or torch detail would instead point to an overstruck finished coin.
What It’s Worth
A confirmed cent on a dime blank has an estimated $400–$1,500 range. Clear date, strong design, and good surfaces support more useful comparisons.
A 2007-D example graded PCGS MS66 brought $600 in March 2023. It illustrates the same basic blank mix-up but is not a recorded 1991 sale.
3. 1991 Penny Gray Zinc without Its Copper Skin: 1991 Missing Plating Error
Missing original copper coating leaves gray zinc to receive the design. Depending on the plating failure, part or all of the surface may lack copper.
Year reports include this error, but chemicals can also strip an already-finished cent. A gray appearance alone cannot establish when the covering disappeared.
How to Identify
Examine exposed zinc and any surviving copper boundary for original struck texture. Roughness, pits, and damaged detail may indicate chemical attack or later removal.
Compare both faces with the edge and keep the coin untreated. Slightly reduced weight can fit both missing original plating and later stripping, so surface examination remains necessary.
What It’s Worth
Confirmed examples have an estimated $50–$700 range. The extent of the missing coating and the preservation of vulnerable zinc both matter.
A 1995-D unplated cent in PCGS MS63 sold for $180 in March 2023, while a 1995 NGC MS67 brought $660 that January. These different-year sales illustrate condition differences without supplying a 1991 result.
4. 1991 Penny A Curved Gap at the Edge: 1991 Clipped Blank Error
The 1991 example discussed by Ken Potter combines a curved clip with an off-center strike. The clip began earlier, when a blanking punch overlapped a hole already cut in the strip.
The resulting incomplete disc later entered the press. Its missing boundary could affect the metal flow and rim that formed beside it.
How to Identify
Inspect the curve and neighboring design for a natural meeting of struck metal and a pre-existing gap. Saw lines, filing, or a cut through completed letters suggest later alteration.
The opposite rim may be weak, though this is not required to be obvious on every genuine clip. Assess the off-center component separately from the missing metal.
What It’s Worth
Genuine curved clips have an estimated $15–$200 range, including interesting combined examples. Clear shape, preservation, and an additional visible striking error affect appeal.
A 2021 straight-clip cent brought $114 in September 2025. Its different curve-free boundary and later date make it a general comparison, not the sale of Potter’s 1991 example.
5. 1991 Penny A Wider Coin or Two-Level Edge: 1991 Broadstrike and Partial Collar Error
Two related errors involve the collar, the ring that normally limits width during striking. No effective restraint permits a broadstrike, while restraint along only part of the thickness can leave a stepped partial-collar edge.
Both are reported for 1991, and one broadstruck example also carries a partial brockage. The step itself does not mean two metal layers are peeling apart.
How to Identify
For a partial collar, inspect the narrower and wider levels from the side without prying at their junction. The difference should fit uneven outward spread rather than a loose layer.
For a broadstrike, verify complete major designs within expanded metal. Check the edge and high points for hammering or crushing that might have widened a normal cent later.
What It’s Worth
The estimated range is $15–$400. A modest edge step generally supports a lower comparison than pronounced spread combined with another clear mint error.
A simple 1999 broadstrike graded PCGS MS65 Red brought $67 in March 2023. The 1991 broadstrike with brockage must be valued as one combined-error coin, not as two maximum prices added together.
6. 1991 Penny Design Runs beyond the Edge: 1991 Off-Center Strike Error
A recorded 1991 cent was struck fifteen percent off center toward two o’clock. Part of its blank stayed unstruck while the intended designs extended beyond the available metal.
ANACS graded that specimen MS64 Red, indicating unworn condition and retained copper-red color. The percentage describes displacement rather than lost weight.
How to Identify
Find the actual date, then compare incomplete designs and plain metal on both faces. An uneven border with complete design can require a broadstrike or die-alignment explanation instead.
Check the edge and unstruck area for trimming, squeezing, or erased detail. Keep the documented direction and percentage tied to the specific example.
What It’s Worth
Genuine examples have an estimated $20–$500 range. Dramatic displacement can attract interest, but readable dates and original surfaces remain important.
A 1999 cent struck ten percent off center brought $47 in March 2023. That modest-error comparison is not the price of the fifteen-percent 1991 specimen.
7. 1991 Penny A Second Impression Far from the First: 1991 Double Strike Error
The documented 1991 double strike has its later blow about 85% off center. Most of the second design missed the metal, leaving a smaller area overlapping the earlier impression.
A coin that fails to leave normally can move before another blow. This repeats the striking event rather than copying tiny extra outlines from one doubled die.
How to Identify
Locate where the second strike interrupts or flattens the first, then follow each set of surviving details independently. Flat ledges beside single letters do not establish another whole-coin strike.
Examine both faces and the edge for crushing from later pressure. Two genuine struck areas need a coherent overlap on naturally formed metal.
What It’s Worth
The estimated range is $50–$600, depending on how clearly the two blows can be understood. The recorded PCGS MS65 Red example sold for $149 on March 18, 2024.
That actual result shows why a large second-strike percentage does not automatically produce a high price. The readable design, color, and surface condition all contribute.
8. 1991 Penny Part of the Design Is Backward: 1991 Partial Brockage Error
A previously struck coin caught between a die and fresh disc can press its raised details into that disc. The recessed mirror image it leaves is a brockage.
The recorded 1991 example combines a partial brockage and a broadstrike in ANACS MS63 Red. Only part of the design needs to show this backward impression.
How to Identify
Check that the strange letters are both backward and sunken. Comparing a close-up with a mirrored normal design can make the relationship easier to see.
Inspect surrounding surfaces and the edge for vise damage because two finished coins squeezed together can imitate a mirror impression. The broadstruck specimen may be wider than normal while retaining its original metal amount.
What It’s Worth
Partial brockages of comparable complexity have an estimated $150–$1,000 range. Large readable backward details provide stronger comparisons than weak crowded impressions.
No verified selling price is adopted for this particular listing. Its brockage and expanded shape are two features of the same valued object.
9. 1991 Penny A Local Patch of Missing Detail: 1991 Strike-Through Error
An obstruction between the disc and die can stop part of the design from forming or leave its own impression. The material may depart afterward, leaving only the pattern.
The reports do not establish a repeat location or a specific substance for 1991. A weak letter cannot identify grease, wire, or cloth by itself.
How to Identify
Compare the patch with equally exposed details nearby. General wear often affects several high points, whereas a local obstruction can interrupt otherwise sharp design.
Look inside and around the weak area for original texture rather than parallel scraping or rough corrosion. Leave any retained material in place for examination.
What It’s Worth
Confirmed examples have an estimated $5–$350 range, from small blocked details to larger distinctive impressions. Surface clarity helps establish both the cause and appeal.
A 2017-D cent with a front strike-through brought $228 in March 2025. The different-year sale provides context without establishing an identical 1991 specimen.
10. 1991 Penny A Small Bar or Broad Raised Area: 1991 Broken and Sunken Dies Error
A BIE chip produces a bar between B and E in LIBERTY when metal enters a small broken spot in the die. A separate reported failure involved a central area of the reverse die sinking and leaving a broader raised zone on the coin.
The larger example also has other striking problems. Its raised area records a change in the tool’s surface, not metal peeling away from the penny.
How to Identify
For BIE, inspect the correct letter gap for original raised metal rather than dirt or a plating bubble. For the larger failure, follow the height change and design that remains across it.
Check both faces because a dent can push metal upward on the other side. Do not pry at an apparent layer when the feature may instead be solid raised metal.
What It’s Worth
The combined estimated range is $2–$300. Small BIE bars occupy the inexpensive end, while a prominent confirmed raised zone can attract more attention.
A 1988 cent with a large rim-connected die break brought $312 in March 2025. That different failure and date do not establish a sale price for the 1991 sunken-die example.
11. 1991 Penny Faint Memorial Shapes beside Lincoln: 1991 Clashed Dies Error
The front of a cent can acquire faint building traces when the bare dies contact one another. Marks from the opposing design then transfer to later coins.
The 1991 example illustrated by Lincoln Cent Resource demonstrates this kind of clash. A complete deeply impressed portrait would call for a different explanation.
How to Identify
Find a recognizable Memorial fragment and compare its position with the illustrated 1991 clash. The shape must fit opposing-tool contact.
Change the lighting to separate real design traces from scratches. Several unrelated lines that merely suggest a building are not a reliable match.
What It’s Worth
Light through clear clashes have an estimated $10–$150 range. Recognizable correctly placed details provide stronger comparisons than a faint line requiring special lighting.
The illustrated coin establishes the error type but supplies no priced auction result in this guide. Wear and surface damage can obscure a genuine clash.
12. 1991 Penny Repeated Date, Hair, or Memorial Detail: 1991 Doubled Dies Error
Some examples show thicker bottoms to the two 9s and a fine extra hairline above Lincoln’s forehead. Other varieties repeat Memorial detail or reverse lettering.
These patterns originate in doubled stamping tools and belong to separate varieties. A single coin need not contain every front and back feature listed.
How to Identify
Confirm the date and mint area before using the 1991 variety photographs. Philadelphia coins have no mint letter, and Denver cents show D below the date.
Match a specific extra line or contour in its exact location. A flat ledge from strike movement differs from repeated design in the die and should not be upgraded solely because a letter looks thick.
What It’s Worth
Confirmed minor varieties have an estimated $2–$150 range. Clear separation on an undamaged coin is generally easier to collect than tiny ambiguous detail on a worn piece.
No common auction result prices every 1991 doubled die. The individual variety and its visible surviving pattern must guide the comparison.
Conclusion
Gray color can lead toward missing plating, a wrong blank, or a finished dime used again. The edge construction and any surviving Roosevelt design decide which path deserves further examination.
Small raised bars and large overlapping designs also need different comparisons. Within the estimated $2–$2,500 range, retain the actual date evidence, distinguish combined errors from separately priced coins, and preserve the original surface that supports the identification.
