Most coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint bear no distinguishing mint letter. However, on Jefferson nickels minted with a special silver alloy from 1942 through 1945 only, the mintmark P appears on the reverse over the dome of Monticello. In recent years the mintmark P has been used again and can be found on various coinage.
The Philadelphia Mint is the "mother mint" and is where dies for all branch mints are made. From the early 19th century until the mid-1960s Proof coins and sets were produced there; after that time Proof production was transferred to San Francisco.
Over the years the Philadelphia Mint has produced many rarities, among the best known of which are the 1793, 1799, and 1804 cents, the 1913 Liberty Head nickel, the 1802 half dime, the 1827 quarter dollar, the 1794 and 1804 silver dollars, the trade dollars of 1884 and 1885, the 1841 and 1863 quarter eagles, the 1875 and 1876 $3 gold pieces, the 1879 and 1880 pattern $4 stellas, the 1822 $5, the $20 pieces of 1883, 1884, and 1933, as well as numerous patterns, prominent among which are the 1849 and Extremely High Relief $20 pieces and two varieties of $50 pieces dated 1877.
New Orleans Mint (1838-1909): In 1838, due to increasing commerce on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf of Mexico, a mint was opened at the foremost trading center in the area, New Orleans, Louisiana. Coins were produced at this facility from 1838 until the Civil War in 1861, and again from 1879 through 1909. In 1861 the mint was seized by the State of Louisiana and was later operated for a short time under the auspices of the Confederate States of America.
The mintmark O appears on coins struck there. Pieces produced at New Orleans were in silver and gold metals; no copper coins were struck. A coin struck at the New Orleans Mint is described as follows, for example: 1879-O.
Among rarities struck at New Orleans are the 1861 Confederate States of America pattern half dollar and the $20 pieces of 1854-O, 1856-O, and 1879-O.
Charlotte Mint (1838-1861): In 1838 a branch mint was opened in Charlotte, North Carolina for the purpose of producing gold coins from metals extracted from mines and streams of the area. $1, $2.50, and $5 pieces were produced there from 1838 until the Civil War in 1861, at which time the mint closed. Charlotte coins are identified by the mintmark C, as, for example, 1843-C.
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