Last coins San Francisco made for circulation

I was just a little bored lol, and this question seemed to come up a lot, "what was the last <insert denomination> San Francisco made for circulation?"
(Edit: and with the S mintmark, so you can tell they minted them.)
So I looked it up:
Cent: 1974 Lincoln
Half dime: 1873 Seated liberty
Nickel: 1970 Jefferson
Dime: 1955 Roosevelt
20 cent piece: 1875 Seated liberty
Quarter: 1954 Washington
Half dollar: 1954 Franklin
Dollar: 1980 Susan B. Anthony
Quarter eagle: 1879 Liberty head
3 dollar gold: 1870 Indian princess
Half eagle: 1916 Indian head
Eagle: 1930 Indian head
Double eagle: 1930 St. Gaudens
(Any denomination not mentioned was never minted for circulation, or at all, by the San Francisco mint.)

I think this is complete and correct (correct me if not).

 

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Just a side note, would love if someone made a set for something like this. Would be a fun album to work on finishing. Besides the gold ones, probably wouldn't be too expensive to complete.

 

I was thinking the same thing...

 

Dangerous minds think alike......(devil)

 

I believe the list is correct if you make "made for circulation with the S mint mark."

They made cents without a mintmark 1978-1983, dimes 1965-1967 and in 1975, quarters 1965-1967, and half dollars 1965-1966.

 

If you want to be technical about it, sure, fair enough. But if you can't tell they minted them, they don't really "count" in my book. But I edited it to include that detail.

 

The quarter and half eagle aren’t outrageously expensive. But the other gold coins are way out there. Especially, the three-dollar coin. It’s unique and would go for 7 figures.

Mike

 

Very interesting!

 

The most recent Red Book lists that one at $6.6 million in AU-50. Even having enough money wouldn't guarantee you could get it, if whoever owns it isn't in the mood to sell.

The second to last San Francisco $3 gold piece was minted in 1860... 7000 minted that year, still kind of rare but far more realistic than a coin that only has 1 known to still exist lol. (I've seen it for sale for about $1200 in XF-45.)

$3 gold pieces were never minted in particularly large numbers and are just generally quite expensive in any case. Highest mintage is 1854 with about 138,000 minted that year. Good luck...

 

Interesting coin. Here's a Coin Week article that details it's colorful history and the possibility that there may be two of them.

 

Well done, thank you.

 

Here’s a start on the list.






I can only get within a year on the half dime.

 

As for the 1870 $3 gold, if they only made one (or two--3?) ten years after they had made any others, even though not proof, it could be argued it (they) were not exactly made for circulation. The first made to be entombed, the other one or two, if genuine, made as collector pieces. Therefore, the 1860 S should be considered the last ones made for circulation. As noted, they never made many, but those did, in fact, mostly circulate. The 1870s, as far as we know, never once actually figured in any transaction as money, nor were expected to.

 

1860-S is still a somewhat scarce date (mintage: aprox. 7000) but it's still reasonably possible to acquire without being a millionaire. And yeah, I'd argue it still counts as last "made for circulation" because even though 1870-S was technically the last one made, it clearly wasn't intended to circulate.

 

PCGS graded the one known coin as SP50. Because it's in a PCGS holder, some might consider it entombed. Mike

 

I suppose you could do the first SF coins too. Cents not until 1908 and nickels 1912 for example.

 

With quarters, I think you're technically correct choosing 1954. As an asterisk, however, I would add that America the Beautiful quarters were minted in SF as business strikes from 2012 through 2021. Although they were sold by the Mint directly to collectors in rolls and never properly meant for circulation, I have found 3 of them in pocket change over the years.

 

Business strikes, yes, but they were definitely not made for circulation. I've found proofs in circulation too; the fact that they can sometimes be found in circulation doesn't change the fact they weren't intended to circulate.

(S-minted business strikes also exist for the American Women quarters from 2022-2025. Oddly, not for the 2021 Crossing the Delaware quarters. There are also 40% silver bicentennial business strike quarters. But I'm not going to count everything they made that was not intended to circulate but sometimes shows up in circulation anyway.)

 

Oh sure, could do that too, so:

First coins minted by San Francisco for circulation (marked with S mint marks):
Cent: 1908 Indian head
Half dime: 1863 Seated liberty
Nickel: 1912 Liberty head
Dime: 1856 Seated liberty
20 cent piece: 1875 Seated liberty (both first and last lol, these weren't around long)
Quarter: 1855 Seated liberty
Half dollar: 1855 Seated liberty
Dollar: 1854 Liberty head (gold) (alternatively, 1859 Seated liberty for the first silver dollar)
Quarter eagle: 1854 Liberty head
3 dollar gold: 1855 Indian princess
Half eagle: 1854 Liberty head (good luck; only 2 known! Otherwise, 1855.)
Eagle: 1854 Liberty head
Double eagle: 1854 Liberty head

This will set you back a lot more than the last of the series, even if you skip the gold.