US Coins That Are Valuable If They Have No Mint Mark

Given the value of some US coins that have no mint mark, there is some confusion among mostly new collectors. They see an article/listing that went for 6 figures with "no mint mark" in the title. Then like typical people new at anything, they don't read any further, they immediately think... "I have coins with no mint mark!"

Well, 99% of the time coins with no mint mark were just minted in Philadelphia and there were millions made. Below is the list of the valuable "no mint mark" coins.

1990 No S Proof Lincoln Memorial Cent

This occurred since the Mint inadvertently shipped a mint state die to the San Francisco Mint without the die containing the S mint mark. This mint state die was then polished, sandblasted, struck several times, and remarkably, it was then transformed into a proof die.

First discovered on July 18, 1990, by Jim Gullen of New York. Following the discovery, the U.S. Mint publicly announced that several 1990 Proof Lincoln cents with missing mint marks were accidentally struck at the San Francisco Mint. The Mint also confirmed the destruction of 145 examples of the 1990 No S Proof Lincoln cents. Only a few hundred exist.

PCGS PR69DCAM

1990 No S Proof Lincoln Memorial Cent

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1983 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

The 1983 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime is the third and last No S Proof coin struck in the Proof Roosevelt Dime series. Most coins exist with Deep cameo surfaces since most Proof Dimes from the 1980s also had proof Deep Cameo surfaces.

PCGS PR70DCAM

1983 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1982 No P Roosevelt Dime

The 1982 No P Dime is the first U.S. business strike coin that accidentally left the U.S. Mint, without containing its intended mint mark. Because of the missing mint mark, this coin is now worth hundreds of times more than its original face value.

Most of the coins were initially found in Sandusky Ohio, where approximately 8,000 to 10,000 coins were reportedly found. Many more 1982 No P Dimes were also handed out at the local Cedar Point Amusement Park as change, with additional examples also being found in circulation around the same area. Walter Placzwkis, Andrew Macdonald, and Lane Durkee were some of the three first individuals who were credited with discovering the coins.

PCGS MS67

1982 No P Roosevelt Dime

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1976 No S Proof Eisenhower Dollar

The 1976 Type 2 “No S” Silver Proof Eisenhower Dollar is one of America’s great mystery coins. It is a 1976 Proof Bicentennial dollar lacking the “S” mintmark for San Francisco and was discovered at a Woodward & Lathrup department store in the Washington, D.C. area in 1977. This is the only one known to exist.

PCGS PR66

1976 No S Proof Eisenhower Dollar

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1975 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

Only two examples of the 1975-S No S Dime are known. The first coin was discovered in a 1975-S Proof Set in 1977. The second example was found seven years later. The discovery coin was sold in 1979 to Proof coin specialist, Fred Vollmer, who sold it the next year later to a collector. Neither coin had ever appeared at auction until the discovery coin was included in the 2011 ANA sale offerings by Stack's-Bowers.

PCGS PR66

1975 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1971 No S Proof Jefferson Nickel

The 1971 No S Proof Jefferson Nickel was accidentally struck with a proof die that was missing the S mint mark. This is the only coin in the entire Jefferson Nickel series that has been struck without containing the intended mint mark.

The coins were found in 1971 Proof Sets and there are possibly several hundred examples known. In Proof without cameo or deep cameo surfaces, there are possibly several hundred in existence. With cameo surfaces, there are probably also a couple hundred examples known. Finally, with Deep Cameo surfaces they are very difficult to come by, and possibly no more than 50 examples exist displaying the Deep Cameo surfaces.

PCGS PR68

1971 No S Proof Jefferson Nickel

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1970 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

The 1970 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime was the second year in which a Roosevelt Dime was accidentally struck without the S mint mark. The Mint accidentally struck Proof Dimes without S mint marks in three different years which are 1968, 1970, and 1983.

1970 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1968 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

This is the first proof coin that was accidentally struck by the United States Mint without containing the S mint mark.

There are only a few dozen examples known in all grades combined, making it an extremely scarce coin. Because of the small amount of coins in existence, the San Francisco Mint likely caught these mistakes very early in the production process. No Mint records provide any details for these coins, which makes them a complete mystery.

1968 No S Proof Roosevelt Dime

Image Courtesy of PCGS

1922 No D Lincoln Wheat Cent

The 1922 No D Lincoln cent is the only circulation strike coin, in the entire Lincoln cent series which lacks its intended mint mark.

The 1922 No D is believed to exist due to a pair of dies clashing with one another without a coin being in between the two dies. As a result, it is believed that a mint employee obtained an old obverse die and filed it down to improve its appearance. Instead, the mint employee ended up filing the D mint mark too much, and in return, created the 1922 No D Lincoln cents.

There are two additional recognized varieties for this date which are much less popular and command much lower prices. One of them is the 1922 Weak D mint mark variety and the second one is the Weak Reverse variety.

PCGS MS65BN

1922 No D Lincoln Wheat Cent

Image Courtesy of PCGS