Got bit by the coin bug and started scouring all my coin jars for anything that stands out. Found this penny with no mint mark, which also has a very reddish color to it compared to other pennies, with blue hues with light reflection at different angles. Is this anything, or a plain old penny?
Although very attractive toning and a pretty good strike, it's still a Zincoln. I would keep it, but no added value. Welcome to CT.
No Mint Mark simply means it was minted in Philadelphia. Since at one time Philadelphia was the ONE and ONLY mint to be producing coins it made no sense to put any identifier of where it was made as everyone knew. Only after they started constructing other locations to manufacture coins did someone think to add a mint mark, and then ONLY to the Other places. Philadelphia consistently does not use a mint mark, there are a few exceptions to the P mm though.
"A March 3, 1835 Congressional Act established the practice in the United States, along with the first Mint branches in this country. When the Mint branches in Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans opened in 1838, mint marks made their first appearance on U.S. coins." https://www.usmint.gov/learn/collecting-basics/mint-marks
It is a plain old penny. Philadelphia minted as stated. Natural toning from circulation. Hand grime and oil. 2017 was the only year the Philadelphia Mint put a Mint Mark in their cent.
