Part II. Die Varieties:

Omitted Mintmark

Definition: An omitted mintmark is one that has been inadvertently not been added to a master or working die.

In 1990 proof Lincoln cent was found without the S-mintmark. The Mint’s explanation involved a Philadelphia working die being inadvertently bundled with a group of proof working dies. However, this begs the question of why the die was not detected through the several subsequent steps involved in producing a finished proof die (i.e., frosting, polishing).

An estimated 3700 hundred coins were struck by this working die, with 145 being discovered and destroyed by the Mint. A census of those coins that did escape into the marketplace revealed only 300 examples.  So where are all the other 1990 “no-S” cents?

In 1982 a business-strike Roosevelt dime appeared without the P-mintmark.  Some coins show a relatively weak strike while most show a strong strike.  It has been determined that the “weak strike” was produced first and both it and the “strong strike” were generated by the same die pair. Most of these “no-P”  dimes were found in Ohio and it is estimated that the total production was approximately 75,000 coins.  This is the average output of a single working die.

Since a mintmark is easy to remove mechanically, this variety is relatively easy to fake. It is strongly recommended that if you are in the market for this die variety, have it looked at by an expert before purchasing it.

The image to the left is the strong strike, while the image to the right is the weak strike.