The 1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the San Francisco Mint with a recorded mintage of 866,000 coins — the 2nd-lowest of the 140 circulation-strike issues in the lincoln wheat cent series, and 4% of the 24,742,000 lincoln wheat cents the Mint produced across all facilities in 1931.
The second-lowest mintage of the series, and the cheapest lesson in the register: the Depression-era hobby saw the number coming and saved the coin by the roll, so the rarity never fully arrived.
A full collector's note for this issue — survival, strike character, and what to check before buying — is on the writing schedule; the figures above are the permanent record.
| Issue | Mint | Mintage |
|---|---|---|
| 1931 Lincoln Wheat Cent | Philadelphia | 19,396,000 |
| 1931-S Lincoln Wheat Cent | San Francisco | 866,000 |
| 1931-D Lincoln Wheat Cent | Denver | 4,480,000 |
Mintage figures: United States Mint (Annual Report of the Director of the Mint), Royal Canadian Mint records, and — for the 1935 banknote issue — Bank of Canada printage records as published in the Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Government Paper Money, cross-checked across independent published references. Specifications: United States Mint coin specifications.