Where to Find the Mint Mark on Nickels
Discover how to locate and understand the subtle markings that reveal the origin and history of your nickel coins.
A mint mark is a small letter or symbol found on a coin that identifies the facility where it was produced. Early mint marks helped ensure accountability for the quality, size, and weight of coins, allowing issues to be traced back to their source. For collectors and enthusiasts, these small letters hold significance, as they can influence a coin’s rarity and historical context.
Locating the Mint Mark on Jefferson Nickels
On most standard Jefferson Nickels minted between 1938 and 1964, the mint mark is found on the coin’s reverse side. You should look to the right of Monticello, near the rim of the coin. This small, single letter indicates the minting facility responsible for its production.
Following 1968, the placement of the mint mark on Jefferson Nickels shifted to the coin’s obverse, or front side. For these later issues, you will typically find the mark below the date, often near the bottom right of Thomas Jefferson’s bust.
Decoding Nickel Mint Mark Symbols
The common mint mark letters found on nickels each represent a specific United States Mint facility. A “D” indicates the coin was struck at the Denver Mint, while an “S” signifies production at the San Francisco Mint. The letter “P” denotes coins minted in Philadelphia.
Historically, coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint did not carry a “P” mint mark for many years. This absence of a mark on a nickel often implies it originated from Philadelphia. It was not until 1980 that the “P” mint mark became a regular feature on Philadelphia-produced nickels and other circulating coinage.
Historical Variations in Nickel Mint Marks
A significant historical variation in nickel mint marks occurred during World War II with the production of “War Nickels” from 1942 to 1945. Due to wartime shortages of nickel, these coins were made from an alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese. To distinguish these silver-content coins, the mint marks (P, D, or S) were placed in a larger size directly above Monticello on the reverse side.
The “P” mint mark made its first appearance on circulating U.S. coinage during this period, specifically on the 1942 “War Nickels” from Philadelphia. After the war, when the original copper-nickel composition resumed, the “P” mint mark was removed, and the standard mint mark placements for “D” and “S” returned to the right of Monticello. The regular use of the “P” mint mark on Philadelphia nickels on the obverse began in 1980.