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Some of these are legit error coins, while others are simply showing signs of post-mint damage.īut how can you tell a mint-made error versus a coin that has been altered or damaged after it left the mint? Here’s how: Start here if your coin is missing some letters…Ī lot of coins are missing a few letters, a numeral or two in the date, or even entire inscriptions!
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So, if you come across, say, a 1968 or 1975 Roosevelt dime without an “S” mintmark or 1990 pennies without a mintmark… unfortunately, what you’ve really found are just common Philadelphia-minted coins. You are not going to find those in circulation! They only turn up in proof sets. Wait a minute… what about those no-S proof coins?
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These are some of the most famous no-mintmark coins, along with their approximate value: There are some very rare no mintmark error coins that are also extremely valuable. Or something else entirely Start here if your coin doesn’t have a mintmark….Hopefully, with the information in this article you’ll be able to more confidently determine if your coin with no mintmark or missing letters is: In some cases, these are error coins - but sometimes it’s just a situation where the lettering was rubbed off by someone outside the mint, or it’s just a normal coin with heavy wear. Likewise, there are many coins that have missing letters. Determining whether a coin with no mintmark or other missing details is an error coin or not depends on evaluating the individual coin.įor example, some coins with no mintmark are indeed errors - while most others were never supposed to have a mintmark in the first place.
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