2000 1C "Cheerios" Cent, RD (Regular Strike)
Series: Lincoln Cents 1959 to Date
PCGS MS68RD
PCGS MS68RD
PCGS MS68RD
- PCGS #:
- 515762
- Designer:
- Victor David Brenner/Frank Gasparro
- Edge:
- Plain
- Diameter:
- 19.00 millimeters
- Weight:
- 2.50 grams
- Mintage:
- 5,503,200,000
- Mint:
- N/A
- Metal:
- Copper-plated Zinc
- Auction Record:
- $11,000 • MS64RD • 09-12-2021 • eBay
Die Varieties
Condition Census What Is This?
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#1 PCGS MS68RD
GreatCollections, August 17, 2025, Lot 1751579 - $2,306.25; "The NAS Backyard Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). Diagonal die polishing lines. A cluster of die bumps in the upper right obverse field near Lincoln's face. Minimal spotting. |
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#1 PCGS MS68RD
Heritage Auctions, June 15, 2025, Lot 1575768 - $984.38. Minimal spotting (very faint when present). Faint horiontal mark between BE in LIBERTY and rim. Shallow rim tick above G of GOD. |
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#1 PCGS MS68RD
Stack’s Bowers, March 272, 2024, Lot 5106 – $1,560. Orange peel surfaces. Light staining on the obverse. Stain between base of the Lincoln Memorial and O of ONE. Faint die line from C of cent running up at a diagonal. |
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#1 PCGS MS68RD
Stack’s Bowers, May 23, 2019, Lot 191 – $3,600; "The rupert Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). Light Staining, more prominent on the reverse. Small vertical tick above E in CENT. |
#1 PCGS MS68RD
Diagonal orientation of the surface. Light bumps (as struck) in the right obverse field. Two small ticks on the steps immediately below Lincoln monument |
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#1 PCGS MS68RD
Coin's orange peel surfaces have a corregated diagonal orientation. Faint spotting. Two diagonal die lines cut across the grain above B of LIBERTY. Small diagonal mark at the base of the second A of America and (after a gap) in the reverse field near 3 o'clock rim. Rim tick below N of ONE. |
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#1 PCGS MS68RD
Light staining on the obverse and reverse. Specific spots are located at the bottom of "IN," to the immediate left of the leftmost column, and at the base of the "N" in "ONE." |
#1 PCGS MS68RD
Light staining. Stain at UR of PLURIBUS. Small rim tick above N of UNITED. |
| #1 PCGS MS68RD |
| #1 PCGS MS68RD |
| #1 PCGS MS68RD |
The 2000 Lincoln "Cheerios" Cent
To support the rollout of the Sacagawea Dollar, the United States Mint launched several innovative PR campaigns designed to give the new coin a "fun factor" that its predecessor—the stern Susan B. Anthony Dollar—sorely lacked.
The most successful of these efforts was a collaboration with General Mills. The Mint delivered 10 million 2000 Lincoln Cents (Base #3160; Cheerios #515762) and 5,500 2000-P Sacagawea "Golden Dollars" (base #9584; Cheerios: #411990) to be distributed in cereal boxes. Each coin was housed in a blister pack on a black-bordered card. Curiously, while the actual coins were Philadelphia strikes, the card illustrations depicted "S" mint mark coins from San Francisco. For boxes containing the dollar, both the dollar and the cent were housed together in the same packet. In these instances, the blister pack is notably larger and rectangular in shape.
The top of the card features the Cheerios logo in gold trade dress, while the bottom is inscribed in gold: "ONE of the 10,000,000 First-Minted Year 2000 Coins."
The back of the card is white with gold-border depictions of the Lincoln Cent obverse. It features a Certificate of Authenticity, which reads:
This is to certify that the United States Mint at its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania facility—the largest coin manufacturing plant in the world—produced the enclosed coin(s). Your 2000-dated coin is one of the first 10,000,000 to be produced by the Mint and has been packaged by Cheerios as a special memento of the new millennium.
The Treasury Seal appears to the left, Phillip N. Diehl, a facsimile of Diehl's signature, and his title. Below the signature is a blank box for "NAME, EVENT, and DATE," along with a card number (A23683).
While every specially marked box contained a Lincoln Cent, the distribution of higher-value prizes was tiered:
- Every 2,000th box: Included both a cent and a Sacagawea Dollar.
- Every 4,400th box: Contained a certificate redeemable for $100 in Sacagawea Dollars.
In hindsight, the luckiest buyers were those who found the single Sacagawea Dollar; many of these were later discovered to be the rare "Cheerios Dollar" variety, distinguished by significantly enhanced detail in the eagle's tail feathers.
Struck with Multiple Dies
Photographic examination of multiple 2000 Cheerios Cents indicates that numerous dies were used to strike the coins. Because of this, original sealed packaging is necessary for authentication.
According to numismatic writer Richard Giedroyc, roughly 10% (one million) of these cents are the Wide AM variety (#147831). On these coins, the letters “AM” in "AMERICA" are spaced noticeably further apart than on the standard business strike. This occurred because a Proof reverse die was inadvertently used for circulation production.
Stains are Common
Unfortunately, as is common with many zinc-core cents, the Mint’s planchet washing process often leaves a residue on the surface that eventually develops into permanent staining. Because this issue is inherent to the 2000-dated strikes, collectors must take these "as-struck" imperfections into account when evaluating a coin's overall quality and eye appeal.
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