2017-P Lincoln Cent

The 2017-P Lincoln cent is the first U.S. one-cent coin ever struck with a “P” mintmark — a one-year 225th-anniversary tribute that is historically significant but, with over 4 billion struck, worth face value in circulation.

History

In January 2017, collectors began finding something unprecedented in their change: Lincoln cents bearing a “P” mintmark. It was the first time in the denomination’s history — stretching back to 1793 — that a Philadelphia-struck cent carried a mintmark (CoinWeek; Numismatic News). The U.S. Mint had released the coins with no prior announcement, shipping them to Federal Reserve Banks in early January to quietly gauge how long it would take the public to question their authenticity (CoinWeek). The “P” was added in recognition of the Mint’s 225th anniversary on April 2, 2017, at the suggestion of Philadelphia Mint employees, according to Tom Jurkowsky, director of the Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications (CoinWeek). The first public inquiry came from collector Terry Granstaff, who found one at a North Carolina gas station and posted it to the PCGS forums, sparking a numismatic stir before the coin was verified as genuine (CoinWeek). It was strictly a one-year type: in 2018, Philadelphia cents returned to the no-mintmark tradition (Littleton Coin Company; Numismatic News).

What is it worth

Face value. Philadelphia struck 4,361,220,000 of these cents — more than four billion — with Denver adding another 4,272,800,000 (U.S. Mint figures via Arnold Coin). With that kind of supply, Numismatic News bluntly advised collectors there is “virtually no chance they will become valuable,” noting a slabbed example costs “only a few bucks” (Numismatic News). Recent eBay sales tracked by PriceCharting (August–September 2026) confirm it: ordinary uncirculated examples sell for $1–$2, and even NGC-graded Gem Uncirculated reds with designer-signed labels top out around $22–$30. Rolls of uncirculated 2017-P cents trade at essentially face plus a small dealer markup. The value here is the story, not the scarcity.

What drives the premium

Almost nothing drives a price premium on this coin — and that is the honest answer. What gives it lasting collector interest is its one-year-only type status: it will always be the answer to the trivia question “which cent was the first with a P mintmark,” and it anchors a neat three-coin set with the 1908-S (first S-mintmarked cent) and 1911-D (first D) (Numismatic News). Certified high-grade examples in full red carry only modest premiums. Do not pay a premium for circulated examples pulled from change.

How to identify the valuable variety

Look below the date on the obverse for the small “P.” The coin uses the Union Shield reverse introduced in 2010, which all 2017 cents share (CoinWeek). The key distinction: only the Philadelphia issue carries the P — the 2017-D has the usual Denver mintmark and no premium, and Philadelphia cents from 2016 and 2018 have no mintmark at all. Note that a “W” mintmark would be a different story: in 2019 the Mint struck cents with a W mintmark for West Point, but those were sold only in Mint sets, never released to circulation (CoinWeek).

Specifications

Composition: copper-plated zinc — 2.5% copper, balance zinc (Arnold Coin). Weight 2.5 grams; diameter 19 mm. Obverse: Victor D. Brenner’s Lincoln portrait (1909); reverse: the Union Shield design by Lyndall Bass (2010). Mintage: Philadelphia 4,361,220,000; Denver 4,272,800,000; San Francisco proof 979,498; plus 223,210 enhanced uncirculated pieces (Arnold Coin, citing Mint figures).

Collector notes

Because the Mint made no announcement, early finds briefly sparked counterfeit fears — a fun footnote that makes original “discovery” stories part of the coin’s lore (CoinWeek). If you want one for the collection, pull a nice red uncirculated example from a bank roll rather than buying one; dealers like Littleton sell single uncirculated pieces to collectors who prefer the convenience (Littleton Coin Company). Save the premium budget for genuinely scarce varieties.