1927 Penny Error List with Pictures
A surface stripe, a peeled layer, and a doubled letter can all draw attention on a 1927 Wheat penny, but they need different explanations. Only the last may repeat a design built into the stamping tool.
A Philadelphia FS-101 doubled-front example sold for $2,645 in 2010. Estimated values for the types below run from $2 to $3,500.
Read on to compare those features with clips, displaced strikes, and genuine repeat strikes, using the right evidence for each.
1. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Die Chips and BIE (Estimated Up to $75)
A bar between B and E can interrupt the familiar spelling of LIBERTY. Collectors call this chip shape BIE because it looks like an extra I.
The shape came from a damaged die, the steel stamping tool. Metal flowed into a small missing piece of the tool during striking.
Reports for 1927 also include other raised chip or crack features. Their location must be checked on the actual coin rather than assumed to be the same on every mint issue.
These features add raised metal to the design. A cut line, loose dirt, or glued material has a different origin.
Estimated Value
An estimated $2–$75 covers many small genuine 1927 chips and BIE features. Clear shapes on well-preserved coins tend to attract more interest than barely visible bumps.
The estimate compares minor Wheat cent tool breaks rather than quoting an auction price for a particular 1927 chip. The whole coin’s mint and condition still matter.
Tiny features may add little to an ordinary worn penny. A conspicuous-looking blob caused by later damage does not earn a mint-error premium.
How to Identify
Look at the letters bordering the bump: BIE requires B on one side and E on the other. A chip elsewhere may be genuine without belonging to that named shape.
Inspect the plain edge for squeezing, then use a scale and calipers to check 3.11 g and 19.05 mm. Normal measurements help screen major alteration but do not prove a chip.
Under a 10× magnifier, shine light across the feature from opposite directions. Its raised form should remain consistent, with an original connection to the surrounding surface.
Do not scrape or probe the bump. Identify the naturally raised chip and its precise letter-space location, rather than treating a shadow or attached dirt as an extra I.
2. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Woodgrain Alloy Pattern (Estimated Up to $100)
Light and dark copper bands can give a 1927 penny a woodgrain appearance. The pattern is often reported on San Francisco examples, with other mints also appearing in year references.
Unevenly mixed metal can develop different colors as the surface ages. Rolling the alloy may stretch those differences into directional bands.
The result is a color pattern across the original surface, not another set of stamped letters. It does not necessarily make the coin a major mint error.
Cleaning scratches, applied color, and corrosion can imitate stripes. The surface needs closer examination before an alloy explanation is accepted.
Estimated Value
A working estimate of $3–$100 covers ordinary circulated or modest-grade 1927 pennies with attractive original woodgrain. The value includes the underlying coin, whose mint and preservation can matter more than the bands.
This is a comparison-based estimate for an appealing surface pattern, not a recorded 1927 error sale. Exceptionally preserved regular coins require their own grade-based assessment.
Collectors may favor bold natural bands, but there is no fixed premium per stripe. Cleaning or artificial coloring can lower value.
How to Identify
Watch how the bands pass through the portrait and open spaces as you tilt the coin. Color changes that preserve the original surface deserve a different explanation from grooves cut by brushing.
A 10× magnifier helps find those grooves and any disturbed shine. Inspect protected spaces beside the letters where cleaning may have affected the surface differently.
Do not use rubbing or a chemical test. Record the normal 3.11 g and 19.05 mm comparisons with a scale and calipers, and examine the plain edge for treatment.
The mint letter helps identify the issue but does not prove uneven mixing. Follow natural color bands across intact metal, while excluding scratches, artificial color, and corrosion as the cause.
3. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Repunched Mintmark (Estimated Up to $200)
The Denver mint letter can show a second stroke above the main D. That remnant is part of an earlier impression from the hand punch used on the stamping tool.
Mint workers punched the letter again, leaving the impressions slightly apart. Every coin made by that tool could then carry the same overlap.
The reported northern extra stroke belongs to a specific 1927-D variety. Other Denver repunches need their own comparison rather than borrowing its direction.
This affects the mint letter below the date, not the whole portrait. It should not be confused with the separately reported doubled-front design.
Estimated Value
For genuine 1927-D repunched mintmarks, an estimated $10–$200 covers modest examples through attractive coins with easily matched extra strokes. Preservation and the exact variety both affect the result.
The range compares minor Wheat cent hand-punched mintmarks. It does not claim a verified transaction for the north-shifted D described here.
A normal D in a slightly different position is not automatically valuable. A clear earlier letter remnant offers stronger evidence than a thick-looking or damaged mintmark alone.
How to Identify
Confirm the D below 1927, then examine the space directly above its main outline with a 10× magnifier. The reported northern remnant should make sense as part of another D.
Compare an ordinary Denver letter before consulting the variety photograph. Flattened edges and small nearby chips can imitate an extra stroke without reproducing the punch shape.
Check for added metal around the letter’s base and damage along the plain edge. A scale and calipers should show approximately 3.11 g and 19.05 mm.
Do not assign the same northern direction to every Denver variety. Trace the earlier D stroke and match its relationship to the main letter in the appropriate photographed example.
4. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Lamination (Estimated Up to $200)
A lifted layer or rough peeled patch can expose a weakness inside the copper alloy. The metal separated along that weakness instead of remaining a solid surface.
A documented 1927-S example shows a broad affected area left of LIBERTY and through Lincoln’s shoulder region. The feature is a layer separation, not a line scratched across the portrait.
Collectors call this lamination. Some pieces keep a loose flap, while others have already lost the separated metal.
Other 1927 examples can have different shapes and positions. Inspect the patch’s boundary closely, because corrosion and scraping can also remove a coin’s surface.
Estimated Value
Genuine 1927 laminations have an estimated value of $5–$200, with the coin’s condition and the visibility of the separation affecting its position in the range. A natural attached flap can be especially easy to recognize.
As a later copper-alloy comparison, a 1966 front lamination graded NGC MS63 Brown sold for $61 in July 2021. It is not the sale price of the illustrated 1927-S penny.
Heavy corrosion or an altered surface can reduce value despite a large missing patch.
How to Identify
Find the S and use the illustrated San Francisco coin as a location-specific comparison. Its broad separation passes left of LIBERTY and into the shoulder area; another coin may differ.
Inspect the layer boundary through a 10× magnifier without touching any loose metal. A flaky separation should be distinguished from a smooth cut or scattered corrosion pits.
The weight can be near 3.11 g if the flap remains or lower if metal detached. Use a scale and check the usual 19.05 mm diameter with calipers.
Examine the plain edge for related splitting or later cutting. Follow an original layered boundary into the affected portrait area, rather than calling any rough missing surface a lamination.
5. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Clipped Planchet (Estimated Up to $250)
A portion of the penny’s outline can be missing because the disc was incomplete before striking. Such a disc is called a clipped planchet.
The Rippere collection included a 1927 Philadelphia cent described as a rim clip. ANACS graded it AU58, meaning almost unworn with only slight circulation wear.
The name confirms a missing-metal feature without specifying a universal direction, shape, or percentage. Those details must come from the actual coin.
A later notch can imitate the outline. The original clip must also fit the way nearby lettering, metal, and the raised border formed when the incomplete disc was struck.
Estimated Value
For genuine 1927 clips of this general kind, an estimated $20–$250 is reasonable. The Rippere coin was auctioned in March 2025, but the public page does not reveal its price.
Two 1939 Wheat cent clips sold for $180 and $114 in January 2023. They provide different-year examples of the market rather than a value assigned to the 1927 piece.
A small clip can be affordable even on an attractive coin. Size, shape, grade, and original surfaces all contribute.
How to Identify
Start with the recorded coin’s photographs so that its small rim gap is not confused with another clipped penny. Locate the date and check the absence of a mint letter.
Examine the gap’s ends with a 10× magnifier. Look for naturally affected rim formation rather than sharp file marks or metal pushed aside by a later cut.
A scale compares the remaining metal with 3.11 g, although a very small clip may scarcely change the reading. Use calipers to compare the surviving diameter with 19.05 mm.
Inspect the rest of the plain edge for alteration. Match the original missing section and its adjacent struck border to the authenticated example, rather than accepting a notch from outline alone.
6. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Off-Center Strike (Estimated Up to $600)
A penny struck off center keeps part of its original disc blank while losing some of the intended design beyond the edge. The disc was misplaced beneath the stamping tools.
Off-center errors are reported for 1927, without one displacement applying to every coin. Both faces need to show what the shifted strike did.
A complete date helps identify the coin despite the missing design. Any surviving mint letter should be checked independently rather than guessed from the blank area.
A clipped disc or an uneven complete strike can look similar. Their missing metal or expanded borders tell different stories.
Estimated Value
An estimated $40–$600 covers genuine 1927 off-center pennies with readable dates, depending on mint, condition, and the visible displacement. Stronger shape alone does not guarantee the upper end.
A 1935 cent struck 10% off center sold for $144 in March 2026. That nearby-year Wheat cent offers a practical comparison without being presented as a 1927 transaction.
Original surfaces and an easily understood error help. Cutting, sanding, or corrosion can reduce the price and sometimes explain the appearance entirely.
How to Identify
Place the coin face up and locate the line where struck design gives way to unused metal. Turn it over and check that the displacement makes sense on the back as well.
A 10× magnifier helps distinguish original blank surface from lettering removed by sanding. If all intended design remains, assess a broadstrike rather than assuming an off-center error.
Weigh against 3.11 g and measure against 19.05 mm with a scale and calipers. The full disc normally remains even if its outline becomes distorted.
Check the plain edge for a later cut and read the surviving date directly. Confirm unused original metal beside design struck beyond the disc, not simply a portrait sitting unevenly within the border.
7. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Double Strike (Estimated Up to $1,500)
Two sets of portrait or lettering details can show that the coin received another strike. The first design remained partly visible after the coin moved or rotated.
A 1984 specialist error catalog included a Philadelphia 1927 double strike graded Extremely Fine. That describes a circulated coin with substantial surviving detail.
The catalog report does not establish one exact shift direction or percentage for every example. The relationship between the two designs must be inspected on the individual coin.
A doubled die is different. Its extra detail began in the stamping tool, while a double strike happened to the coin itself.
Estimated Value
For a genuine 1927 double strike, an estimated $200–$1,500 allows for differing preservation and clarity of the overlap. No confirmed sale price is assigned here to the cataloged Extremely Fine example.
A 1917 Wheat cent with a second strike 10% off center sold for $517.50 in June 2004. This different-year transaction provides a mechanism comparison.
Two clearly traceable designs usually explain the error better than a confusing flattened surface. Damage can reduce value even when repeated striking is genuine.
How to Identify
Choose one recognizable part of Lincoln and follow its first position, then find the second. Repeat the exercise with lettering instead of relying on a single doubled edge.
Use a 10× magnifier to map how the later strike crosses the earlier design. Inspect both sides because the overlap should tell a consistent striking story.
The normal disc is 3.11 g and 19.05 mm; record weight with a scale and dimensions with calipers. Changes in outline may reflect striking, while missing metal needs another explanation.
Check the plain edge for seams or crushing from later pressing. Trace two distinct struck impressions through their overlap without assigning a shift direction that the coin itself does not show.
8. 1927 Lincoln Wheat Penny Doubled Die Obverse (Estimated Up to $3,500)
Extra raised outlines in the front lettering or date can come from a doubled die, a stamping tool that already carried repeated detail. A single strike then transferred that altered design.
The Philadelphia FS-101 is a recognized 1927 variety. The motto, LIBERTY, and date provide areas to compare, but a correct identification depends on the complete matching pattern.
A Denver doubled-front variety is also reported in a specialist catalog. It should not be identified with the Philadelphia coin’s photographs or catalog number.
Flat letter ledges can result from movement during striking. That differs from repeated detail built into the tool.
Estimated Value
The Philadelphia FS-101 graded MS64 sold for $2,645 at Bowers & Merena on June 17, 2010, as listed by PCGS. This provides a real same-year example near the upper end.
Estimated values range roughly from $25–$300 for modest confirmed examples to $300–$3,500 for stronger, attractive Philadelphia FS-101 pieces. The separate Denver report does not automatically inherit that range’s highest figure.
Match the variety and preservation before comparing prices.
How to Identify
Identify the mint before choosing a reference photograph. No letter below the date means Philadelphia; a D calls for the separate Denver comparison.
A scale and calipers check the normal 3.11 g and 19.05 mm, and the plain edge should show no major alteration. These basic checks cannot establish a doubled die by themselves.
Under a 10× magnifier, compare several parts of the motto, LIBERTY, and date with the appropriate front variety. Changing the light helps separate true outlines from reflections.
Look for consistent repeated raised detail rather than a flattened shelf beside an isolated letter. Match the same arrangement across several design elements before assigning FS-101 or the separate Denver identity.
Conclusion
Decide whether the unusual feature changes the design, the metal surface, or the coin’s outline before comparing prices. That first distinction separates several easily confused 1927 finds.
The estimated range is $2–$3,500, from minor chips to attractive Philadelphia FS-101 examples. A different mint or a different kind of doubling needs its own comparison.
Keep original surfaces intact and use both faces, the edge, and basic measurements to support the identification.