What the P Mint Mark Means

A P mint mark means the coin was struck at the Philadelphia Mint. For most of its history Philadelphia used no mint mark at all, so a U.S. coin with no letter usually comes from Philadelphia too. The P appeared on the 1942 to 1945 silver war nickels, on the Susan B. Anthony dollar from 1979, and on most other denominations from 1980, while Lincoln cents almost never carry it.

What a mint mark is

A mint mark is a small letter struck into a coin to show which U.S. Mint made it. Collectors read it together with the date, since the same year from two different mints can be priced very differently.

There are only a handful of letters to learn. D stands for Denver, and on gold struck before the Civil War it stands for Dahlonega, Georgia. S is San Francisco, O is New Orleans, CC is Carson City and W is West Point. P is Philadelphia, the one mint that went without its letter for most of its history.

Collectors who build albums by date and mint need one coin from each, which is why a Denver or San Francisco coin from a given year can sell for a different price than the Philadelphia coin of that same year.

Why most Philadelphia coins have no mint mark

Philadelphia was the first Mint. The Coinage Act of 1792 created the U.S. Mint, it began in this city, and until 1838 there was nowhere else for an American coin to be struck. A mint mark had no job to do while only one mint existed.

The first branch mints opened in 1838 at New Orleans, Charlotte and Dahlonega, and their letters set their coins apart. Philadelphia kept striking without a letter, a habit that lasted well into the twentieth century. The parent mint's coins were the default, and a mint mark told you a coin came from somewhere else.

That leads to a simple rule of thumb. If a U.S. coin has no mint mark, it was most likely struck in Philadelphia. That covers every half cent and large cent, every Flying Eagle cent, most Indian Head cents, the Philadelphia issues of Morgan and Peace dollars, and Philadelphia gold struck before 1933.

The pattern held as more branch mints opened. San Francisco, Carson City, Denver and later West Point each put a letter on their coins, while Philadelphia, the parent mint, went on striking without one.

Which coins carry a P

The P arrived in three steps. The first came during World War II on the 1942 to 1945 silver war nickels, which are 35% silver. After the war, Philadelphia nickels went back to having no mint mark.

The second step came in 1979 with the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which carried a P from its first year. In 1980 the P spread to most other denominations struck in Philadelphia. Lincoln cents were the holdout. Cents from Philadelphia carry no mint mark in nearly every year, before and after 1980.

This explains a common mix-up over pocket change. A 1979 quarter from Philadelphia has no letter, while a 1980 quarter from Philadelphia shows a P. Both came from the same building, and neither one is an error.

How to find the mint mark on your coin

Mint marks are small and easy to miss. Use a magnifier and a bright lamp, and check both sides, because the Mint has moved the letter around over the years as designs changed. On many older coins it sits on the back, and on many modern coins it is on the front near the date.

Hold coins by their edges, and do not rub a dark or dirty coin to read the letter. Cleaning lowers a coin's grade, and a rubbed spot is plain to any buyer who looks closely.

If you find no letter, nothing is missing. For most American coins a blank spot means Philadelphia. A heavily worn coin may have a mint mark that is hard to make out, which is one more reason to bring coins in as they are.

A clear photo helps if you want to describe a coin when you call, but we grade the coin itself at the appointment.

Does the P make a coin worth more?

On its own, rarely. A P tells you where a coin was struck. Whether that coin is worth more than another of its type depends on the date, the grade and how scarce that particular date and mint pairing is. Philadelphia's version of a date can be the common one in some years and the scarcer one in others.

The war nickels show how this works. A Philadelphia war nickel carries a P and 35% silver, which gives it metal value an ordinary nickel lacks. Its worth still rests on silver content first, with date and grade after that.

Grade usually outweighs the letter. Put two Philadelphia Morgan dollars of the same year side by side, one worn smooth and one with full luster, and the Sheldon scale from 1 to 70 will separate them far more than any mint mark could. A P quarter from 1980 in a pocket-change jar is a P quarter worth its face.

So when a seller asks whether the P matters, the honest answer is that it tells us where to look next. We read the letter with the date to learn which pairing we have, then grade the coin and weigh current collector demand.

Early American coins: Philadelphia by default

Every U.S. coin made before 1838 came from Philadelphia, so the city's early coins are where American coin collecting begins. Half cents and large cents were struck here from 1793 to 1857, and the Bust silver coins of those early decades came from Philadelphia until the branches opened.

Philadelphia struck the later 19th century types as well: Flying Eagle cents from 1856 to 1858, Indian Head cents from 1859 to 1909, two-cent pieces from 1864 to 1873 and three-cent silver pieces from 1851 to 1873. Seated Liberty silver coins came from both Philadelphia and the branch mints, and the Philadelphia pieces carry no letter. Bust and Seated silver are collectible in most grades.

For these coins the missing mint mark tells you little new. Type, date, grade and, on copper, color decide what a collector will pay. Copper is graded red, red-brown or brown.

Philadelphia also struck much of the gold that families still hold: $20 double eagles in the Liberty and Saint-Gaudens designs, $10 eagles, $5 half eagles, $2.50 quarter eagles and $1 gold pieces, all without a letter when they came from here. Each is 90% gold, so its gold content sets a floor beneath any collector premium.

The P and the Philadelphia Mint

The P exists because of this city. David Rittenhouse, the Philadelphia astronomer, was the Mint's first director, and the first Mint building stood on Seventh Street near Arch. The Mint moved several times after that. Today's Philadelphia Mint opened in 1969 on Independence Mall, near the Liberty Bell, and it is the fourth Mint building in Philadelphia's history. It sits a short walk from Elfreth's Alley and the rest of Old City.

Coins with no mint mark turn up in collections everywhere from Society Hill to Fox Chase, and they confuse a lot of local sellers. Some families set them aside thinking the blank spot is a flaw. Others hold on to a P quarter from 1980 believing the letter makes it rare. Sorting by date and grade answers the question better than the letter ever does, and that is true for a Center City condo drawer and a Bucks County farmhouse alike. Some sellers have saved every P quarter they found for years, hoping the letter would pay off. Those coins are worth face, and we say so plainly, then check the rest of the jar for silver dated 1964 and earlier.

If you have early coppers, Morgan dollars or a mixed box and want to know what you are holding, call 215-798-9204 for a private appointment. We work by appointment only, with no counter and no line, and we serve Philadelphia, its suburban counties, South Jersey around Cherry Hill, the Trenton and Princeton area and Wilmington. The free evaluation covers every coin you bring, marked or not. Bring a government-issued photo ID if you may want to sell.