1990 Lincoln Cent Misplaced Mint Mark 0

[NanetteC]

Hello I found a 1990 Lincoln Cent with a P mint mark located on the right side of the date. Can you give me advice on this coin. It's in very poor condition but I know there's no P mint marks on the Lincoln Cent until 2017.

[l.cutler]

Welcome to the forum.  Sorry to say I believe that is a spot of corrosion, not a mint mark.

[Fenntucky Mike]

Agree. Damage/corrosion, not a MM.

[GBrad]

Welcome to the NGC forum.  The above answers are spot on.  I'll throw in the mix here that it may be a ruptured platting bubble which would thus cause the corrosion issue mentioned above.  

[Mohawk]

Agreed with the above.  That's just corrosion.  It's nothing special.  Corrosion is very common on zinc Lincoln Cents and sometimes it can look strange.

[Oldhoopster]

In 1990, the mint did not add the mint mark to individual dies.It was added upstream in the die making process (added to the Master die or working hub, I can't remember which).  That's why you can't have a misplaced mintmark.  

[Mohawk]

I believe it was the master die, Oldhoopster.  But I could be wrong about that.  I haven't thought of this particular issue in a long time.

[RWB]

On 10/9/2021 at 1:57 PM, Oldhoopster said:

Master die

Master date die for the year.

To the OP -- Adding more fuzzy photos only makes things more confusing. In any case, it's merely damage.

Edited October 9, 2021 by RWB