1990 No mint mark

[Guest]

Hello

Is a 1990 Lincoln cent with no mint mark "S", "D" unusual?

[Arjohn]

Its a Philadelphia mint mark, what we call a "Plain" --- Nearly 1/2 of all cents are Plain... S for 1990 is only the proof

[jmills]

I found this in Wikipedia
In 1990, 3,055 proof cents were struck at the San Francisco Mint without the "S" mint mark, making them appear as if they had been struck at the Philadelphia Mint. However, as no proof cents were struck in Philadelphia that year, they are easily distinguishable as errors.

[simonm]

I found this in Wikipedia
In 1990, 3,055 proof cents were struck at the San Francisco Mint without the "S" mint mark, making them appear as if they had been struck at the Philadelphia Mint. However, as no proof cents were struck in Philadelphia that year, they are easily distinguishable as errors.

That is correct...however, the coin you have is most likely just a business strike coin minted in Philadelphia that always lacks a mintmark. It is only the PROOF coins that could be the rare no-S proof cent.

Pictures of the coin would confirm it, though.

[GrumpyEd]

Almost 7 BILLION 1990 Philadelphia cents were minted and have no mintmark.

The 1990 no S proof are really scarce, Wiki may say that 3,055 were made but I think only a few got out of the mint.

Proof is a method of manufacture, it's not a grade. That means that all those billions of normal 1990 plain cents are different and not proofs regardless of how shinny or red they look and those few no S proofs are probably in proof sets or graded in slabs. It would be luckier than a winning lottery ticket to find a no S proof that was broken out and circulated. Probably the only way to find one is searching 1990 proof sets.

[jmills]

1990 Picture

Thanks for the information. I have attached a picture.

[willbrooks]

Proof cents come in proof sets. What you have is one of the 7 billion business-strike 1990 cents minted in Philadelphia. It is worth 1 cent, even with the horrible fingerprint.

[jmills]

Lot to learn. Thanks

[GrumpyEd]

It's a buss strike not a proof.

Depending where you live the plain cents can seem rare, out west I get tons of D mints and few plains but that is reversed for people that live in the east.

[coop]

Proof cents without the mint mark were missing the "S" mint mark. Those are the ones that are collectable.

[georoxx]

Hey Coop.

The coin in your image is a 1990, but the header (above it) says 1993... I know it's an oversight, but you may want to correct it.

-George

[ledger35]

Hey Coop.

The coin in your image is a 1990, but the header (above it) says 1993... I know it's an oversight, but you may want to correct it.

-George

George I was too busy glazing at that beauty to ever notice the heading. What a Coin!