PART I. Die Subtypes;
Mid-year Design Modifications:
Modified mintmark location
Definition: The Act of March 3, 1835, established the first branch mints in the United States. This act directed the Mint’s Director to identify coins produced at each of the U. S. Mints, thus the establishing the use of mintmarks. The use of a mintmark on branch Mint coins insured recognition of that Mint’s product.
The mintmark was applied to the working die up until the year 1989. In the year 1990, the mintmarks were applied to the master die. During the preceding 154 years, the mintmarks were applied to a specific location in each issue. There were only three instances where the mintmark location was changed within the same year. This occurred on the 1872 Seated Liberty half dime, the 1875 Seated Liberty dime, and the 1917 Walking Liberty half dollar.
The images above show the 1872-S Seated Liberty half dime with the mintmark above the bow (image to the left) and the mintmark below the bow (image to the right). Also note the different font styles of the two S-mintmarks.
Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
The images above show the two locations of the Carson City mintmark (CC) on the 1875 Seated Liberty dime.
Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
The images above show the two different locations of the San Francisco mintmark on the 1875 Seated Liberty dime. Also note the different size and font of the S-mintmark.
Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Unlike the 1875 Seated Liberty dime, which had the mintmark location on the reverse of the coin, the 1917 Walking Liberty half dollar first had the mintmark on the obverse face of the coin, later switching to the reverse of the coin.
The images above show the change in mintmark location from the obverse to the reverse on the 1917-D Walking Liberty half dollar.
Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
The above images show the change in location of the San Francisco Mint’s S-mintmark from the obverse to the reverse. Also note the change in the size and font of the S-mintmark.
Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.