A Short History of the United States Mint, Mint Marks, and Designer's
Initials
The United States
Mint has used just seven different Mint marks on its coinage: P,
for the Philadelphia Mint; D, for pre-Civil War 19th century gold
coins struck at the Dahlonega Mint in Georgia, and for 20th and 21st century
coins struck at the Denver Mint; S, for coins struck at the San
Francisco Mint; O, for coins struck at the New Orleans Mint; C, for coins
struck at the Charlotte Mint in North Carolina; CC, for coins struck at
the Carson City Mint in Nevada; and W, for coins struck at the West
Point Mint (just on collector coins; none for circulation).
Not all coins
have Mint marks. No U.S. coins had Mint marks until the late 1830s (until
then, only one Mint existed). The Philadelphia Mint did not use
the P Mint mark until the 20th century (briefly from 1942 to 1945 on Jefferson
5-cent coins; the P was reintroduced on the 1979-P Anthony dollar, and
on all circulating coins struck at Philadelphia since 1980 except for the
Lincoln cent). During the mid-1960s and again in the late 1970s and early
1980s, Mint marks were dropped from some or all coins for various reasons.
The designers
of U.S. coins did not start signing their works until the mid-19th century,
and even afterward, many coins were issued without any credit for their
designers. The first signed coin was an 1836 silver dollar bearing the
engraver's full last name, Gobrecht, although that recognition was removed
after only a few trial pieces were produced. No other U.S. coins bear a
full name.
Those coins
that do bear the artist's signatures may bear a single initial, as on the
Indian Head 5-cent coin/Buffalo nickel and American Buffalo silver dollar,
which have an F on the obverse for James Earle Fraser; several initials,
as with the F.G. on the reverse of the Lincoln cent with Memorial reverse,
designed by Frank Gasparro; or a monogram, such as that appearing on the
obverse of the Kennedy half dollar, designed by Gilroy Roberts.
http://www.coinworld.com/FAQ/Page3.asp
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