The "P" mint mark was left off the Lincoln cent in 1980 because of the number of dies. There are many more cent dies needed for a particular year than for the other denominations. Mint marks were still being hand punched onto the dies at that time, and there were too many cent dies to justify doing it. That's no longer the case. The red book says the mint mark is added to the working hub. The Cherrypickers' Guide says the mint mark is now added to the original plaster sculpture, before it becomes a galvano. Irregardless, the mint has chosen to continue to leave off the "P" mint mark on the cent.
I decided to come up with some numbers, and I also did a little research, for anyone who might be interested (and that one person knows who he is! ) The average life of a Lincoln cent die in 1980 was roughly 500,000 to 1,000,000 cents. Nowadays, it's 1,000,000+ due to improvements in making dies. For the other denominations (nickels through dollar coins) the average die life is a little less than those figures. I took the mintage figures for 1980 and picked the average die life at 750,000 for the cent and 500,000 for the nickel through dollar coin, and came up with the following approximate numbers of dies (obverse) needed to strike coins in 1980:
Cent...........9886 dies Nickel..........1186 dies Dimes.........1470 dies Quarters.....1272 dies Halves............88 dies Dollars............55 dies
These figures apply to obverse dies needed to strike Philadelphia coins only. A similar, slightly less, number of dies would be needed to strike the Denver coins for 1980, essentially doubling the figures listed above. At that time, Philly was still preparing all of the dies, including the punching of the mint marks. It becomes apparent why they chose not to punch the Philly cent dies with a "P" (they had almost 10,000 Denver cent dies that had to be punched, plus all of the other denominations.)
I also found a couple of other things that were interesting for those who may not know. The mint was still blaming coin collectors for the cent shortage as late as 1979. Then mint director Stella Hackel actually proposed to eliminate the "D" mint mark from Denver cents beginning in 1980, creating cents without any mint mark at all, regardless of where they were struck. While I think that such a proposal would have had to be approved by Congress and signed into law, a couple of months after that proposal, mint director Hackel reversed herself and announced that Denver cents would keep the mint mark.
From 1974 through 1985, cents without mint marks for circulation were struck at West Point (not officially a mint until 1988) and from 1978 through 1983 also at San Francisco, also without a mint mark, making them indistinguishable from Philly cents. I knew about West Point, but didn't know that San Francisco also struck them.
ursabear
Posts: 1,888
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Duh, I read the question wrong,
Obverse,
P was not placed on the obverse till 80 ?
Biking nut thanks for correcting me,
Looking for PCGS AU58 Washington's, 32-63.
Wasn't there a year since 1980 where the "P" was missing from the obverse?
Looking for PCGS AU58 Washington's, 32-63.
BTW - the lincoln was a late adopter.
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
The Lincoln cent store:
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My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
Looking for PCGS AU58 Washington's, 32-63.
Cent...........9886 dies
Nickel..........1186 dies
Dimes.........1470 dies
Quarters.....1272 dies
Halves............88 dies
Dollars............55 dies
These figures apply to obverse dies needed to strike Philadelphia coins only. A similar, slightly less, number of dies would be needed to strike the Denver coins for 1980, essentially doubling the figures listed above. At that time, Philly was still preparing all of the dies, including the punching of the mint marks. It becomes apparent why they chose not to punch the Philly cent dies with a "P" (they had almost 10,000 Denver cent dies that had to be punched, plus all of the other denominations.)
I also found a couple of other things that were interesting for those who may not know. The mint was still blaming coin collectors for the cent shortage as late as 1979. Then mint director Stella Hackel actually proposed to eliminate the "D" mint mark from Denver cents beginning in 1980, creating cents without any mint mark at all, regardless of where they were struck. While I think that such a proposal would have had to be approved by Congress and signed into law, a couple of months after that proposal, mint director Hackel reversed herself and announced that Denver cents would keep the mint mark.
From 1974 through 1985, cents without mint marks for circulation were struck at West Point (not officially a mint until 1988) and from 1978 through 1983 also at San Francisco, also without a mint mark, making them indistinguishable from Philly cents. I knew about West Point, but didn't know that San Francisco also struck them.
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