1991 S Lincoln penny no mint mark? 1 1

[Frff]

Reading up on the 1991 s no mint mark it says that you can identify it because it will be very shiny witch this is can anybody tell me for sure if this is the 1991 s Lincoln penny with no mint mark

[Frff]

Never mind I just realized it's a 1990 with no s mint mark but is this still a proof

[Greenstang]

Not a proof, just a Philadelphia mint business strike.

[Frff]

Thanks 

[Sandon]

   I'm glad that you realized that it was a few thousand proof 1990, not 1991, cents that were erroneously struck from dies that lacked the "S" mintmark. To my knowledge, all of the 1990 "no S" proof cents have been found in mint sealed proof sets, not among circulating coins. No 1991 proof coins are known to exist without the "S" mintmark.

   No, your 1991 cent is not a proof. It has normal, bright "cartwheel" luster for an uncirculated cent struck for circulation. A proof would have a mirrorlike surface in the fields that would contrast with heavily frosted devices and lettering, as on this 2000-S proof:

   You might want to go to the U.S. Mint's website (usmint.gov) and buy yourself a current year proof set to familiarize yourself with what modern proof coins look like.  You could also buy one or more of the quite inexpensive 1970s to early 2000s sets from a coin dealer.  Although every once in a while, proofs that were mistakenly spent turn up in change, such pieces would usually be impaired and of little value.

Edited Sunday at 05:45 PM by Sandon
eliminate redundant wording