When is a Mintmark not a Mintmark?

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Most U.S. coins bear a mintmark to indicate where they were made. A tiny letter (or letters) is placed somewhere on the coin so that anyone looking at the coin can determine the source. Centuries ago, hallmarks, mintmarks, and maker’s marks were used for quality control purposes, especially when the purity of the coins was so important. Today, the greatest demand for mintmarks comes from collectors who seek to acquire coins from as many different sources as possible.

The following mintmarks have appeared on United States coins at various times:

C – Charlotte, North Carolina

D – Dahlonega, Georgia and Denver, Colorado

O – New Orleans, Louisiana

P – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

S – San Francisco, California

W – West Point, New York

CC – Carson City, Nevada

Prior to 1979, coins from Philadelphia (the "Mother" Mint) bore no mintmarks.

Thus, U.S. coins from say, 1920, either bore a mintmark or did not. However, there are a couple of instances when a coin was struck at a mint other than Philadelphia, but without a mintmark.

One example is the 1925 Fort Vancouver commemorative Half Dollar, all of which were struck at San Francisco, but none of which have a mintmark. Another is the 1971 No S Nickel, which was also struck at San Francisco without the proper mintmark. Though this was an unintentional error, both it and the Ft. Vancouver Half Dollars violate the mintmark rule.

Conversely, is there a U.S. coin that bears a "mintmark" that is not a mintmark? Can the mintmark rule be broken in such a way? The answer is "yes."

In 1920, the Philadelphia Mint struck Half Dollars to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Every one of the over 150,000 coins struck in 1920 bear the letter D on the obverse of the coin, underneath the Pilgrims elbow. Any reasonable person, even a fairly knowledgeable collector, would assume the D was a mintmark from the Denver Mint. However, such is not the case. In reality, the tiny letter represents the first letter of the designer’s last name: Dallin (for Cyrus E. Dallin).

What makes this case even more interesting is that it was not the practice of the Mint to include the designer’s initials on the commemorative Half Dollars made during this period. Was the "D" added because the mintmark punch was already at hand? Who knows?

Clearly, this is an unusual case where a "mintmark" is not a mintmark!