1909 penny question

If a seller is selling a 1909 VDB wheat penny as a 1909-P, what does the 'P' stand for? There's no P mint mark on the coin.

 

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philidelphia. and they (philidelphia) didnt use a mintmark on cents.

 

"P" is for the Philadelphia Mint. U.S. cents made in Philadelphia don't have mint marks.

 

Thanks. That's what I was guessing but I wasn't sure. I didn't know that they didn't mark any cents though.

 

I know this has probably been beaten to death here, but what causes the different appearances? Like red, red/brown or just brown?

 

Many bronze/copper coins mellow/change from their original mint red color, due to reactions with the environment.

 

Most metals combine with the Oxygen in the air and create a new compound. With many coins, such as pennies (cents) the darkening of the coin is usually due to the Copper combining with Oxygen to form Cu20. Originally the cent was a combination of metals of Copper, Zinc, Tin. In addition to the Copper Oxydizing, some of the Zinc and Tin also Oxidize. This new compound being formed of those metals and the Oxygen will slowly change the coin from the original Brassy, bright color to the darkening brownish color.
Some Copper coins also begin to form a greenish patina. This is also due to the combining of moisture and carbon dioxide in the air to form Copper Carbonate.

 

Yep... since 1980, Philadelphia has put a "P" on anything they mint, except for cents still... tradition, I guess.