I have a pile of forty or so coins here in my desk. They are an assortment of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters from sundry sources. Nearly all of them are from the Denver mint (there’s a little “D” on the lower right hand side of the coin.) There are a handful (well not literally, there’s only 3 or 4) from Philadelphia (“P”), and there are also a few without mint markings (1970 penny, 1964 nickel, 1996 penny.)
So my main question is: why are the vast majority (80%+) from Denver? Are there distribution regions for the various U.S. mints?
(does further searching)
Ok, according to this page at the mint, only Philly and Denver mint coins for general circulation. So do I happen to have more Denver coins because Houston is marginally closer to Denver, or because Denver makes more coins, or ____? Thanks.
Side question: there is no mint marking on this one 1996 penny, which is odd. Does anyone know why? (The coin is well worn, but all other markings are still quite legible and distinctive, so I do not believe the mint marking simply wore off.)
Can’t answer to the mint’s distribution of coins, but the coin without a mint mark is from the Philadelphia mint. “S” is San Francisco, “D” is Denver, “O” is New Orleans, “CC” is Carson City, “W” is West Point, no mark is Philly and I don’t know why that is so.
Well, does Philly mark some, but not all of their coins? I have a dime from the same year as the penny (1996) that is parked with a “P”, which seems to indicate Philadelphia.
neuroman, if a coin is made at only one mint that year (Denver or Philadelphia), then there will be no mint mark. All current general circulation coins are minted at one of those two mints; proof sets come out of San Francisco, and coins such as the American Eagle gold bullion coin are minted at West Point.
As to the OP of why you see a majority of Denver coinage, that is because coins are distributed to banks through the federal reserve system, so those reserve banks in the east usually get their coins from Philadelphia, while those in the west usually get theirs from Denver. (See this map of the federal reserve regions.)
Actually, I was in error and Chefguy was right; if there is no mint mark then it is always Philadelphia. Older coins can be a bit more interesting, but if you find a current coin with no mint mark then it is definitely Philadelphia, and if a coin is minted at both Denver and Philadelphia in the same year then the current standard is to include the mint mark on both.
When the US started making coins(1793), there was only ONE mint–Philadelphia. So, there was no need for a mint mark. In the late 1830’s, gold was discovered in the Southern NC/Northern Georgia area. Rather than ship the gold to the US mint in Philly, the gov’t opened the first branch mints in Charlotte NC and Dalonegah GA. They also opened a branch mint in that same period(1838) . The mintmarks were, respectively, C, D, and O.
There wasn’t another mint until the gold rush in CA made it necessary to strike gold coins there, so the mint opened a branch mint in San Francisco (S mintmark) in 1854. The big silver finds in Nevada caused the mint to open the Carson City branch mint in 1870 (CC mintmark). Denver was opened in 1906 (D mintmark–the D-for Dahlonega had ceased in 1861 when the gold petered out).
I think the mint started adding a “P” mintmark to all PHiladelphia coins(except the cent) in 1981 or 1982, stupidly in my opinion. But, Hey!–they’re a money making biz like the rest of corporate America.
I’m always amazed when I see just where Denver coins are issued, as opposed to Philly coins. In Ohio, we get nothing but PHilly. But in parts of Indiana, they get Denver. For sure the Western and Southwestern states get Denver stuff. It’s a matter of economy, with shipping cost being the important factor(I guess.)
Go to a coin shop or a coin show. Ask if they have any CC quarters or dimes from the 1870’s. Some are quite affordable. $50 or so will buy a nice one. Not perfect, but very nice.
The dollars are currently being promoted on TV shopping channels, etc. Grossly overpriced. I couldn’t give them away six years ago for $50. Now we wholesale them to the tv people for $170 so they can sell them for $300 or more.
In Denver, not surprisingly, nearly 100% of the coind are from the Denver Mint. I think in my life, I have seen exactly one non-Denver Mint coin. Actually that does surprise me a bit-- I would think that I’d see a few more Philly coins, just from people traveling in with Philly coins and spending them. Not a lot, but more than one in 33 years.
Living near Philadelphia, I probably see 95% P marks, as would be expected. An exception was the Ohio state quarter, when it was probably 75% D, due to the closure of the Philadelphia mint to address OSHA violations.
Actually, during World War II (1942-1945) the composition of the nickel was changed to 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese, because nickel was vital to the war effort. To mark this change, the mint mark was enlarged and placed over the dome of Monticello–for these four years, the “P” mint mark from Philly coins could be clearly seen.