Why is the Philly 2012 cent the only coin without a mint mark ? All nickels, dimes, quarters, halfs & dollars have "P" mint marks, but not the cent. The Denver minted coins are all I.D. with the "D".
found this, not sure how truthful it is though The reason Philadelphia cents don't have a mint mark even though all other coins carry a P is that demand is sometimes so high that the mints at West Point and/or San Francisco make extra pennies. They make a lot fewer coins than Philadelphia and Denver so if there were W or S pennies they'd be "instant rarities". To prevent that from happening the Mint decided that only Denver cents would carry mint marks even though all other denominations started using the P mark in 1980. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_the_mint_mark_on_a_US_penny#ixzz1wxDo6cbR
I have news for you. Cents struck at the Philadelphia Mint have never had a mintmark. Philadelphia added a 'P' mintmark to all other denominations in 1980 (1979 for the SBA Dollar). So it is not only the 2012 Cent that does not have a mintmark if struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
Hi ! Hobo, I guess I already knew that, but the thought just accured to me when looking at the 2012 Uncirculated sets. Thanks for your statement. Dave
That would make sense. Of course they have also struck quarters for Philadelphia too and I don't see them leaving the mintmark off the Philadelphia quarters. Another reason may simply be tradition. The P mint has never used a mintmark for cents and the cent was the first coin they struck.
