How to Find the Mint Mark on US Coins

Learning to find the Mint Mark on any given coin is one of the most basic fundamentals in coin collecting. What is a Mint Mark? It is a small letter (or letters) placed on a coin by the Mint to indicate where the coin was made.

The Mint Mark is sometimes not easy for the untrained eye to locate. However, an experienced numismatist can usually zero in on the diminutive letter with no difficulty.

The purpose of this section is to photographically depict the Mint Mark location (if any) across the full spectrum of regular issue United States coins. You simply select any coin type from the list below, and from there, you’ll be whisked to a page replete with Mint Mark information and image blow ups. In a matter of moments, you too can become an expert at spotting Mint Marks. The "Gateway to Mint Mark Locations" link in the upper right opens a new window from which you may also select coin types.

The Mint Mark on the Mercury Dime is located on reverse, near bottom, to left of fasces bundle. In the case of the 1916, a "D" Mint Mark adds much greater value.

The presence of a Mint Mark (or absence thereof) is a crucial factor in determining rarity and ultimately, coin value. For instance, there is a BIG difference between a 1916 and a 1916-D Mercury Dime. In G-4 condition, the 1916 is priced at $4.00. BUT… if there is a little “D” lurking on the reverse just to the left of the fasces at bottom, its price zooms to nearly $1000. For sure, certain mint marks can increase your coin collection value!

Throughout its history, the United States has minted coins in eight different localities, all worthy of greater study. To that end, we have a section called the “Saga of the US Mint” that describes how the Mint evolved from a small, primitive facility in 1793 to become the most prolific coin manufacturer in the world today.

Now let’s get down to business. All you have to do to learn how to find any US coin Mint Mark is to click the appropriate coin type link below. From there, everything will fall into place easily for you.

If you’re not sure what coin type to select, just start clicking. Sooner or later, the coin photos on the follow up pages will help identify your coin.

As is always the case on US Coin Values Advisor, we seldom miss an opportunity to educate collectors about coins. You'll notice that every page you visit in our Mint Mark section describes interesting facts about the coin type in question.