If this has been discussed before, forgive me… why is the Philadelphia mint cent the inly coin without a mint mark? I understand why one was put on in2017. Ty! joe
Hello! The best reason that I could find is that simply put the Philadelphia Mint has been the main Mint compared to the rest (Denver, San Francisco) and it has just been customary to do so. Until 2017(The “P” mintmark was situated on 2017 pennies as part of the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Mint)
Also, in the beginning it was the only mint, so no need for a mint mark as our coinage all came from there. Then when others opened, the absence of the mark was just as telling if the others had one. So tradition I suppose. Interestingly, I never have found the P mint mark cent in the wild.
The only time a "P" mint mark was placed on coin in the "olden times" was for the War Nickels which were issued from 1942 to 1945. The plan was to withdraw them once the war was over, and that made them easier to spot. Here is a 1942-P Proof war nickel. I think this is neat coin, but enough of them were issued (27,600) that the prices are sill reasonable.
Yup, when Philly was the only mint, there was no need for a mint mark. Here's another question I don't know the answer to...what coin bore the first mint mark?
It's the year, it's a tie between three coins, the 1838-C quarter eagle and the 1838-C and 1838-D half eagles. According to my Internet search, the first 1838-C half eagles were delivered on March 28, 1938. The first 1838-D half eagles were delivered in April. This 1838-C half eagle was not among the first because its was made with a badly broken reverse die. It was among the last. Here is an 1838-D half eagle. And here is an 1838-C quarter eagle which was issued after the half eagles.
Charlotte and Dahlonega gold? I would not have guessed that, yet the date make it rather obvious. Thank you.
