QUERY: U.S. COINAGE MINTAGE FIGURES SOUGHT

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V22 2019 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 22, Number 12, March 24, 2019, Article 27

Dave Bowers forwarded this inquiry from Jerry Diekmann. -Editor

I have been a coin collector for over 50 years now and have always enjoyed reading your articles and have purchased several of your books. I do have a question that I have never seen addressed, much less answered, in the coin collecting community, and that relates to the mintages of coins with no mint marks that occurred from 1965 into the mid-1980s.

All the coins from 1965 to 1967 were minted without mint marks but I am wondering if the Mint ever reported the individual mintages among Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, and also if they ever reported the actual number of coins minted during each of those years. I believe 1964 coins were minted into 1966, and 1965 dated coins from very late in 1965 into the middle of 1966. For the cents, from 1975 through I think 1986, they were minted at all four mints, but those minted in San Francisco and West Point were struck without mint marks, so they are indistinguishable from the Philadelphia cents. Did the Mint keep records on the numbers of cents struck at West Point and San Francisco?

And the 1982 cents represent the biggest confusion of all, as there were seven different varieties that year, large date and small date, and copper vs. zinc plated coins. Were individual mintage records ever kept for these coins?

Finally, were any records kept for the 1960 small date and large date coins for Philadelphia and Denver? And are there any accurate records for the proof silver and uncirculated San Francisco bicentennial coins? I have never seen any breakdowns of the mintages in the Red Book or any other books, including the ones you have authored. If there are no accurate numbers available, are there at least any reasonable estimates of these unknown mintages?

Great questions! Dave had to decline to research this due to constraints on his time, but recommended The E-Sylum knowing how many smart, well-read numismatists we have in our number. So... can anyone help?

I'm not aware of any breakdown of the 1982 cent mintage figures. If there is a breakdown by mint of the 1965-1967 coinage then is would likely be in the reports of the Mint Director for those years. The Redbook and other pricing guides would have had little reason to include those numbers since the coins themselves would be indistinguishable and valued equally in the marketplace.

Like the 1982 cents, the small and large date 1960 cents were varieties and I doubt any records were kept.

The largest and most accessible collection of U.S. Mint Director reports is on the Newman Numismatic Portal. -Editor

To read the U.S. Mint Reports on the Newman Portal, see:
U.S. Mint Reports (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/51)