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jsheng's Blog

12 Mar 2019

2019 W Penny

Coins-United States | jsheng

The U.S. Mint recently revealed that they were selling 2019 W Pennies as a part of their 2019 proof set, which can be found here at their website: https://catalog.usmint.gov/proof-set-2019-19RG.html . These pennies produced from the West Point Mint are special because the West Point Mint is known for producing commemoratives, such as the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, or other special collector's coins, such as the American Eagles. They normally don't produce standard coinage such as pennies. Prior to 2019, West Point did not make pennies. They did, however, produce a commemorative 50th anniversary of the Roosevelt dime in 1996. In 2014, they produced a W Kennedy Half Dollar to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy half Dollar. In 2015, they produced more W dimes along with W dollars to commemorate the March of Dimes. This is the first time they are producing pennies.


These pennies have the standard composition of post-1982 circulating ones. They're 97.5% zinc, and 2.5% copper, making a copper-plated zinc penny. In terms of design, they are identical to the standard Union Shield penny.

Aimed towards collectors, these pennies will be added to traditional mint sets. This addition is similar to the addition of the 1996 W dime in the 1996 mint sets - they come as a bonus, and not as extra charge. They will be produced in three finishes along with their mint sets: an uncirculated penny with an uncirculated set, a proof penny with a proof set, and a reverse proof penny with a silver proof set. All other coins in the sets will contain an S mintmark. The W pennies won't be for sale individually, unless you buy from a third-party dealer.
More details about each type of penny: The uncirculated penny is not as shiny as the proof penny, but they are minted with special dies and with above-average force, resulting in a beautiful look.
The proof penny has sharp, frosted relief and brilliant mirrored backgrounds, resulting in a cameo look. The reverse proof penny has the opposite features of the proof: it has brilliant mirrored designs and frosted backgrounds. This creates high contrast, and is exceptionally pleasing to the eye. All three of these types will be packaged in clear United States Mint plastic wrap.
Overall, the 2019 W pennies are a unique addition to any collection, whether it's big or small. Because these pennies are probably limited edition, getting another one of these pennies in the future may become expensive, as these pennies are only produced in mint sets. This unique coin, whether uncirculated, proof, or reverse proof, will be a very nice and appealing addition to your collection.
References:
Proof set 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2019, from https://catalog.usmint.gov/proof-set-2019-19RG.html

Comments

Kepi

Level 6

Too many products offered from the Mint. But a collector of Lincoln Cents will want this! Good blog!

Longstrider

Level 6

Another cash cow for the mint. Sorry, I have a bad attitude about the mint in general.

"SUN"

Level 6

Too bad the mint doesn't make circulation strikes.

PastorK7354

Level 4

Got mine yesterday. Beautiful!

LNCS

Level 5

Still waiting for my proof set to see what they look like. Will probably get the silver proof and mint set this year to get these cents.

It's Mokie

Level 6

If you look at last years totals for the regular proof set, the silver proof set, and the uncirculated set, I betcha the addition of the W Cent will add at least 25% to the sales of each set when compared to 2018. So the production of each of the W Cents will be several million. They will be very very popular, it may take several months for each of their prices to settle to a non-speculation fueled level. Bottom Line - Brilliant Marketing Idea by the Mint.

Mike

Level 7

These cents are special . Made in a place known for gold so you go from gold down to the cent. I still fill books so mine is on the way. I will also have all three slabed. For my sons. Thanks. Pat

As the mintages will be a big part in how rare this coin will be and it will show how popular it will be.

CoinLady

Level 6

Any Lincoln 1c collector will want this. Wonder what the final totals will be?

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