Every 1922 cent should carry the “D” mintmark from Denver, which was the only facility to produce cents in 1922. But accidents happen, and a mint employee over polished a working die, erasing the “D.”
The Denver Mint struck a total of 7,160,000 Lincoln cents that year. Due to a shortage of coin dies, Denver workers polished and reused damaged, clogged dies. That is how the mistake happened.
Coin collectors know that the Philadelphia Mint typically does not use a mintmark for coinage. So the missing mintmark has the appearance of being struck at Philly.
Only about 15,000 examples exist of the missing mintmark cent, a key date for collectors and a rarity, worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars, depending on the die pairs.
That’s why identifying the rarity is important. We’ll explore that here.
The 1922 Cent is categorized as follows:
- Standard 1922-D (Normal mint mark)
- 1922 “Weak D” (Faint, blurry, or partially filled mint mark)
- 1922 “No D” / Plain (Mint mark completely missing)
In addition, value is assessed by die pairs:
Die Pair #1 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse). Mushy or missing lines on wheat stalks.
Die Pair #2 (“No D” Strong Reverse). Clear lines on wheat stalks.
Die Pair #3 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse). The final “2” in the date is notably weaker than the first “2”.
Die Pair #4 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse): Very similar to pair 3 but typically even mushier.
Scammers find it easy to erase the “D” on a well-defined 1922-D normal mintmark coin. They do so by tooling or filling the area where the mintmark should be. Here’s a suspicioius example:
This is one occasion to use a coin microscope. Any deviation on the surface is suspect.
Also keep in mind that China mass produces replicas that dishonest sellers offer as authentic. Example:
As always, if you cannot distinguish die pairs, or are unsure, do not bid on or buy any unholdered coin.
As you might anticipate, die pair #2 values are expensive.
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