Baby Boomer Pocket Change

Can’t Find the Mint Mark on That Half Dollar?

Here is what I found out about the location of the mint marks on the Kennedy and Walking Liberty half dollar.

Kennedy half dollar-Look to the left of the eagle’s tail feathers in 1964. But look below John F. Kennedy’s neck from 1968 and on.

Walking Liberty half dollar- From 1916-1947) Look on the front(Obverse). It is below IN GOD WE TRUST. In 1916 and 1917, it is on the reverse, above and to the left of the words HALF DOLLAR. Note: According to Wikepedia, In mid 1917, the mintmark was moved to the reverse. It is located to the upper left of ‘half dollar’ along the rim.

Barbar half dollar(1892-1915)-Look for the mint mark below the eagle

Tags: half dollar, Mint Marks

Looking for The Mint Mark But Can’t Find It?-Quarters

Look for the mint marks on the following quarters:

Type of Quarter

Barber quarter(1892-1916)     Below the eagle

Standing Liberty Quarter (1916-1930)   To the left of the date. Not to be confused with the M for the designers name.

Washington Quarter(1932 to 1964)  Below the eagle

from 1968 to the present -to the right of George Washington’s pigtail

Tags: location of mint mark, Mint Marks, Quarters

Mint Marks-What Are They

Ever wonder what those little letters were on your coins.  Many coins values are based on those little letters called Mint Marks. These letters indicate the place where your coin was produced.

If you are a beginner just learning like me just understanding what those letters mean is another notch in your coin information. So, the list below will hopefully help.

Here are the letters that are used on coins made in the United States to show where the coin was minted. I have also include the date range that coins were produced at that location.

W- West Point, New York(1984 to date)

C-Charlotte, North Carolina (1838-1861) Note: Only gold coins were minted here

D-Dahlonega, Georgia(1838-1861) Note: Only gold coins were minted here

D-Dencer(1906 to date)

O-New Orleans (1838-1909)

S-San Francisco (1854 to date)

CC-Carson City, Nevada (1870-1893) 

P-Philadelphia (1979 to date)

  Note: Many coins were made in Philadelphia but do not have the mint mark. The very fact that the mark was absent indicated that it was made in Philadelphia.  The mark was not added until 1979. No P has been used on Lincoln cents.

A wee bit of history. In 1942-1945 the- P-mint mark was used on nickels to show that they had a different metal combination that did not include nickel. This can be seen on the “tails” side which is referred to as the REVERSE of the coin.

 Is this helpful? Anything you want to add?

Tags: Mint Marks, what are mink marks