Fully red gems of this issue are extremely rare, though Mint State examples of so-so quality are not hard to find. Since reverse dies carried no date, they did not have to be discarded at the end of each year, but instead were used until they failed completely.
This date was widely hoarded from circulation starting in the mid 1930s, so well worn examples are more common than their relatively low mintage would suggest. Some are difficult to attribute as 1921-S cents, since the mintmark was shallowly punched on one or more obverse dies this year.
Mintage:
Philadelphia | San Francisco |
39,157,000 | 15,264,000 |