1922 No D Lincoln Cent

The 1922 'No D' cent is a celebrated error variety because 1922 is the only year in the Lincoln cent series when the Philadelphia Mint struck no cents at all, meaning every 1922 cent should carry Denver's D mint mark. A subset of coins from a heavily worn or filled die show a weak or entirely missing D, creating an apparent 'no mint mark' cent that should not exist for that date.

This scarcity of circumstance, combined with the intrigue of a coin that logically 'shouldn't exist,' has made the 1922 No D one of the most famous and heavily studied error varieties in American numismatics.

In 1922, the Philadelphia Mint did not strike cents, leaving the Denver Mint as the sole source of that year's production. Excessive use and improper maintenance of some obverse dies caused the D mint mark to fill in with grease and debris or wear away, so a percentage of coins from certain die pairs show little to no trace of the D.

Collectors and researchers have since classified 1922 cents into weak-D and true no-D varieties based on which working dies were used, since not every worn-D 1922 cent is the same rarity; the strongest, cleanest 'no D' examples from the correctly identified die pair are the most desirable and valuable.

Obverse: A standard Lincoln portrait and date for the era, but with the area beneath the date where the D mint mark should appear showing either a very weak, partial D or no trace of it at all.

Reverse: Standard wheat-ear Lincoln cent reverse from the era, showing no distinguishing marks relevant to the variety.

Because weakly-struck D mint marks are more common (and less valuable) than the true 'no D' variety attributed to a specific worn die, identification relies on comparing diagnostic die markers to published references for the recognized variety; third-party grading services specifically attribute and certify the premium no-D variety separately from ordinary weak-D coins.

Because 1922 cents without any D are effectively considered 'no mint mark' Denver coins from a year Philadelphia made none, genuine, properly attributed examples can be valuable, generally ranging from a few hundred dollars in lower circulated grades up to several thousand dollars for higher grades or the specific die variety prized by specialists.

Weak-D examples, where the mint mark is faint but still detectable under magnification, are far more common and worth much less than a true attributed no-D. As with other conditional rarities, certification and correct die-pair attribution are essential to establishing value.