How to Identify Mint Locations on Coins

Coins Minted Before 1968

• 1

  Lay the coin flat with the reverse side facing up. Use ample light to view the coin.

• 2

  Locate the area in which the date is engraved. Under the date, there should be a small letter stamped into the field or background of the coin. This letter identifies the mint where the coin was produced. A mintmark may also be located to the right of the picture engraved on the reverse side of the coin, similar to the mintmark on a dollar bill. Many coins minted prior to 1968 do not have a mintmark. Since the United States had only one mint in Philadelphia for most coins, often no mintmark was included at that time.

• 3

  Identify the letter and the mint. The United States mints that could be identified before 1968 are: P for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or C for the U.S. mint in Charlotte, North Carolina. Only gold coins were minted in Charlotte. Gold coins marked with a D and dated between 1838 and 1861 were minted in Dahlonega, Georgia. However, coins produced after 1906 marked with a D were minted in Denver, Colorado. Coins marked with an O were minted in New Orleans, Louisiana. S stands for the mint in San Francisco, California. A CC stamped on a coin refers to the mint in Carson City, Nevada. D for Denver and S for San Francisco are the most common mintmarks.

Coins Minted After 1968

• 4

  Look at the face side of the coin. Coins minted after 1968 have the letter identifying the mint located under the date stamp.

• 5

  Locate the mintmark letter. Of the marks mentioned for the earlier coins, only D for Denver, P for Philadelphia, and S for San Francisco appear on coins produced after 1968. In addition, collectors' coins with a W were minted in West Point, New York, starting in 1976.

• 6

  Observe the rim of a gold dollar coin. The mintmark on gold dollars is not located on the face or the reverse, but on the rim.