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A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It is distinct from a mintmaster mark, the mark of the mintmaster.
In some cases the symbols found in the field of ancient Greek coins indicated mints, not magistrates. Mints in territories conquered by Alexander the Great struck coins with the types he used in Macedon but marked with a local symbol.Greek Coins and Their Values, H. A. Seaby, Kings of Macedon coin 539 For example, Rhodes struck coins with Alexander's types marked with a rose, a local symbol previously used on its own coins.Historia Numorum, Barcay Head, introduction page lix
A reform of Diocletian made mint marks a regular feature of ancient Roman coinage. These mint marks were placed at the bottom of the reverse of the coin and contained three parts. The first part indicates that this was a coin with either SM for Sacra Moneta, M for Moneta, or P for Pecunia. The second part was an abbreviation of the name of the mint such as ROM for Rome or LON for London. The final part indicated the workshop within the mint.Roman Coins and Their Values, David Sear page 47 The reform of Anastasius, which is the traditional dividing point between the coinage of the Roman and the Later Roman (a.k.a. Byzantine) empires, replaced the mint marks on gold coins by the inscription CONOB, meaning the pure standard of Constantinople, which was used by a variety of mints. Mint marks continued on copper coinage until the second half of the seventh century, however.Byzantine Coins, P. D. Whiting, page 60
Mint names began to appear on French coins under Pepin and became mandatory under Charlemagne.Coins in History, John Porteous, page 54 In 1389, Charles IV adopted a system called Secret Points. This scheme placed a dot under the first letter of the legend on coins of Crémieu, under the second letter for Romans, up to the twenty-second letter for Bourges.The Silver Coins of Medieval France, James Roberts, page 202 In the fifteenth century letters or symbols placed at the end of the legend indicating the mint were used in addition to Secret Points.The Silver Coins of Medieval France, James Roberts, page 203 In 1540, Francis I discontinued Secret Points in favor of a system of letters; A for Paris, B for Rouen, …, Z for Lyon; in the field.The Silver Coins of Medieval France, James Roberts, page 204 He also made it the rule for mint-masters to place their personal marks on coins, as they had done with increasing frequency since the coinage of Louis XI. This was one of the few royal practices continued by the Republic of France.Coins in History, John Porteous, page 164 The mint letters continued until 1898 (briefly revived in 1914 and from 1942 to 1958) and the mint-masters marks, supplemented by the mark of the Chief Engraver, are still used.Standard Catalog of World Coins by Krause Publications
Some Medieval English coins used mint names .Coins in History, John Porteous, page 68 When William III retired hammered coinage, branch mints which helped strike machine made coins to replace it put their initials below his bust.Coins in History, John Porteous, page 214 The Royal Mint established branches to coin sovereigns near the sources of gold. These issues show the initials of Sydney, Melbourne, Victoria, and Perth Australia as well as Canada, South Africa, and India.Historic Gold Coins of the World, Burton Hobson, pages 129 and 132 The privately owned Soho Mint obtained a contract to strike royal copper coins with steam presses and put its name on these coins and on coins it minted for other countries. When it closed, Ralph Heaton acquired its equipment, founded the Birmingham Mint, and put his H mint mark on coins of Canada, among others.
The Spanish Empire introduced mint marks to the New World when they authorized Mexico City to open a mint on 11 May 1535. The Spanish Empire established mints throughout its American territories, each with their own mint mark. After its revolution, Mexico continued to use its colonial Mo monogram mint mark shown on either side of the date in the Spanish dollar. The United States of America established mints in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia in 1838 after the Georgia Gold Rush and put its first mint marks on the gold coins struck there.A Guide Book of United States Coins, R. S. Yeoman Like other countries, the United States has since placed mint marks not only on its own coins but also those of its territories, such as the Philippines, and other countries for which it has contracts to strike coins, such as Fiji.
There have been nine official United States Mints. The first U.S. Mint was in Philadelphia, which began coin production with large cents and the half cents of pure copper in early 1793. Other U.S. Mints, prior to the twentieth century, were considered "branch mints."
United States mint marks were originally used to distinguish coins not made in Philadelphia. The eight mint marks used to distinguish coins not minted in Philadelphia are as follows, listed chronologically with date of first coinage production:
The West Point Mint began coin production to ease the shortage of quarters and other minor coinage; this facility bore no mint mark. Thus, West Point coins could not be distinguished from those made at the Philadelphia Mint. The West Point "W" mint mark was first used on the $10 gold coins commemorating the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles.
Most Philadelphia Mint coins from earlier than 1980 were unmarked with the notable exceptions being wartime nickels (1942–1945) and Susan B. Anthony dollars (1979–1999). The "P" mint mark was first used on the Susan B. Anthony Dollars starting 1979.
From 1980 until 2017, the Lincoln cent was the only coin that did not always have a mint mark, using a "D" when struck in Denver but lacking a "P" when ostensibly struck at the Philadelphia mint. This practice allowed the additional minting of coins at the San Francisco mint ("S") and West Point mint ("W") without the use of their respective mint marks to address circulating coinage needs without the concern of creating scarce varieties that would be plucked from circulation by collectors. In the single year of 2017 the Philadelphia "P" was added to the Lincoln cent to celebrate 225 years of Philadelphia Mint service.
Generally 21st century coins with an "S" or "W" do not circulate, being mostly produced as bullion, commemorative, proof coinage or other "collector coinage" sold by the U.S. Mint to either authorized bullion wholesalers or directly to collectors. There was also an exception, the 2019-W quarter made for circulation. Only 2 million were made for each design. The West Point Mint continues to make "W" quarters intended for circulation. This is called "The Great American Coin Hunt." The "S" mint mark were also used for circulated coins until 1980.
Many mints of the world commonly use a Privy mark, which is a symbol unique to each mint. The Royal Canadian Mint commonly uses a maple leaf privy mark. Segovia, Spain used an aqueduct, a local landmark, before it switched over to the star system in 1868. The private mint of the French Coinage Society Poissy Branch used a thunderbolt mint mark on coins of France, its colonies, Romania and other countries.Standard Catalog of World Coins, C. Krause and C Michler, Spain, France, French Indo-China and Romania (left) and mint mark on a Dutch coin. The mint mark is that of the mint of Utrecht. Since 1830 (with an interruption in 1941–1945) this mark is pressed on all Dutch coins.]]
Many Islamic coins bear an inscription telling which mint produced the coin. This inscription is often the name of the city where the coin was minted spelled out in Arabic script.
Several euro coins have mint marks of their respective Mint. See Identifying marks on euro coins for more information.
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