What are Mint Marks and Why are they Important
Mint Marks are the tiny letters referring to the locality where the minting of coins took place. The position of mint mark can be found typically on the back side of coins that were minted before the year 1965 and on the front after the year 1967.
Coins of every US mint branch are recognized by mint marks.
The “Director of the Mint”, through the “Act of March 3, 1835”, set rules to classify and distinguish the coins released from every US Mint branch. This core management set accurate standards and pattern of production as well as responsible coinage.
Mintmarks that appear on US coins include:
- C: Charlotte (Gold only, 1838-1861)
- CC: Carson City (1870-1893)
- D: Dahlonega, Georgia (Gold only, 1838-1861)
- D: Denver (1906 to date; easily distinguishable from Dahlonega because of the different timeframes in which the mints operated)
- O: New Orleans (1838-1909)
- P: Philadelphia (Silver “Nickels” 1942-45; Dollar coins 1979 to date; other coins except cents 1980 to date. Although the Philadelphia mint has been operating continuously since 1793, most Philadelphia coins do not have a mintmark)
- S: San Francisco (1854 to date. Now mints collector coins only. The last circulating coin to bear an ‘S’ mintmark was the 1980-S SBA Dollar)
- W: West Point (1983 to date; collector coins only)
All dies for US coins are produced at the Philadelphia Mint and prior to shipping the coins to their mint branch, coins are marked first with the correct and designated mint markings. The precise size and positioning of the coins’ mint mark can slightly vary; this is influenced by how deep the punch was impressed and where.
The importance of mint marks:
Collectors can determine the value of a coin though mint mark, date and condition examination, making the coins condition the most significant factor and standard when determining its value. Different mints produce a different quantity of coins and therefore some coins from mints having smaller quantities can be more valuable.
