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What Two States Make Most of the Coins for Investors & Collectors?

During the history of U.S. currency, eight different mint facilities in eight different states have minted coins. Four of these mints are still in use as of 2011. While any of these mints can produce a coin with significant numismatic value, the Philadelphia and the Denver mint do produce by far the most coins overall.

Modern Mints
- Four mints currently produce coins in the United States. These mints are located in Denver, Colorado; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Francisco California and West Point, New York. Most coins carry a small mark somewhere on one of their faces called a mint mark that tells you where they were minted. A coin with a "P" mint mark was minted in Philadelphia, however no mint mark exists on most coins minted in Philadelphia prior to 1973. A non-gold coin with a "D" mint mark was minted in Denver, a coin with an "S" mint mark was minted in San Francisco and a coin with a "W" mint mark was minted in West Point. The Denver and Philadelphia mints produce coins for circulation. The West Point and San Fransisco mints are used for special issue coins and sets.
Historic Mints
- In the past, the U.S. has minted coins in Charlotte, North Carolina with mint mark "C"; Carson City, Nevada marked "CC"; Dahlonega, Georgia with a mint mark "G" only used on gold coins between 1838 and 1861 and New Orleans, Louisiana marked with an "O". Coins from these mints are often very collectible.

Coin Collecting