1990 Penny (No Mintmark) 1 1

[NdNgirl1986]

How to differentiate between the

1990 Penny with no mint mark coin 

             Vs

1990 Penny No S mint mark error coin

 

 

[Mike Meenderink]

The 1990 "No P"  as posted above is a normal business strike coin which was struck at the Philadelphia mint. Most coins from this era struck at the Philly mint did NOT have a mint mark. This is normal for a non-proof or business strike coin. The 1990 NO S refers to the 1990 NO S PROOF cent which was struck at the San Francisco mint. These 1990 proof coins are supposed to have an S mint mark. Some coins were struck without this S mintmark. The absence of the S on the proof coin makes it valuable and tough to find in higher grades.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Mike Meenderink

[Sandon]

    The 1990-S "no S" proof cent was a modern proof striking with mirrorlike fields and frosted devices and lettering that creates a "cameo" contrast, as on this 2000-S proof cent:

   The 1990 cent that you found in circulation is in About Uncirculated condition and if struck as a proof should retain at least some of its mirror surfaces and frosted devices. It has none. It can't possibly have been struck as a proof.

   Moreover, the estimated 3,555 proof cents that the mint erroneously struck in 1990 without the "S" mintmark would have been included in 1990 proof sets (regular and Prestige) that were issued in hard plastic cases and sold to collectors. (One source--the 7th edition Expanded Deluxe Edition or "Mega Red" Redbook at p. 290, note x, indicates that no more than 250 of these sets actually left the mint.) To my knowledge, 1990 "no S" proof cents have only been found in such sets, not among circulating coins. These estimated 3,555 coins were out of a total proof production of 3,299,599 proof cents dated 1990, so even if all of them had left the mint only one out of about a thousand 1990 proof sets could have contained a "no S" cent. Although low value proof coins that were removed from proof sets are occasionally spent and found in circulation, what are the odds that someone would have spent a 1990 "no S" proof cent worth several thousand dollars and that you would be the person lucky enough to find it?  In contrast, the Philadelphia mint struck over 4.9 billion 1990 cents without mintmarks for circulation. The coin in your photos is one of them.

 

[EagleRJO]

I assume you were looking for the valuable 1990-S No S cent after watching some YT vids about hitting it big looking through pocket change.  You might want to start over with the following topics, and avoid YT vids except maybe from ANA, NGC or PCGS.

https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/428817-resources-for-new-collectors/

https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/430263-basic-resources-glossary/

[VKurtB]

Step #1 - One has to know what a proof coin is, and what it looks like. This is apparently too difficult to do online, and usually requires seeing them in "meatspace".

[NdNgirl1986]

Thank you all for responding & taking the time to answer my question. 

[l.cutler]

The only way to find one of the no S proof coins is in proof sets that have never been checked for them.  Proof sets may have been bought and never really looked at.  They will not be found in circulation or rolls.

[EagleRJO]

On 12/16/2023 at 11:41 PM, VKurtB said:

Step #1 - One has to know what a proof coin is, and what it looks like. This is apparently too difficult to do online, and usually requires seeing them in "meatspace".

Or see if you can clearly read the inscription on a #2 pencil in the fields.  I understand grading rooms have something similar to identify prooflike.

[VKurtB]

On 12/17/2023 at 1:03 PM, EagleRJO said:

Or see if you can clearly read the inscription on a #2 pencil in the fields.  I understand grading rooms have something similar to identify prooflike.

Oh man, let’s not go down the proofLIKE rathole here. It’s disturbing enough that we have people searching for “No S” 1990 cents who have never even SEEN a proof coin. 
 

“Oh, there’s really rare coins in my pocket change!” No, really, there’s not. 
 

Edited December 17, 2023 by VKurtB

[EagleRJO]

On 12/17/2023 at 2:07 PM, VKurtB said:

people searching for “No S” 1990 cents who have never even SEEN a proof coin ... “Oh, there’s really rare coins in my pocket change!”

That's YT for you, which I suspect is the reason for the search.

[VKurtB]

On 12/17/2023 at 1:39 PM, EagleRJO said:

That's YT for you, which I suspect is the reason for the search.

YT is good for learning how to change a fuel pump in a 1995 Subaru Wagon. Not s’much for learning about coins. 

[EagleRJO]

On 12/17/2023 at 3:08 PM, VKurtB said:

YT is good for learning how to change a fuel pump in a 1995 Subaru Wagon. Not s’much for learning about coins. 

ANA has a lot of good YT vids.  Also their eLearning center at money.org has a bunch of good ones.

[VKurtB]

On 12/17/2023 at 9:39 PM, EagleRJO said:

ANA has a lot of good YT vids.  Also their eLearning center at money.org has a bunch of good ones.

No, YT has good ANA vids. Money.org is where to access them, not YouTube. You don’t need YouTube. You DO NEED money.org. Putting ANA videos on YouTube is pandering to the most ignorant elements of the hobby. Yes, SOME of the ANA think that’s a good thing. I do not. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by VKurtB

[EagleRJO]

On 12/17/2023 at 11:23 PM, VKurtB said:

No, YT has good ANA vids

 🙄