Collectors can look forward this year to a total of three special edition Lincoln cents from the U.S. Mint facility at West Point.
Sharing the West Point Mint’s "W" mint mark but with varying finishes, each of the cents are packaged and marketed separately as premium pieces included when buying three annual sets.
The West Point Mint struck Lincoln cents for release into general circulation during the 70’s and 80’s but those coins never carried mint marks. The special edition cents are the first with "W" mint marks. They also mark firsts as numismatic issues with collector coin finishes.
A premium West Point cent is included as a free item with each one of the following sets ordered:
- 2019 Proof Set (19RG) — includes a proof 2019-W Lincoln cent
- 2019 Silver Proof Set (19RH) — includes a reverse proof 2019-W Lincoln cent
- 2019 Uncirculated Mint Set (19RJ) — includes an uncirculated 2019-W Lincoln cent
This year’s annual Proof Set already launched. Released March 1 for $27.95, the set and cent combo realized three-day starting sales of 196,034.
This year’s annual Silver Proof Set becomes available on April 17 for $54.95.
The 2019 Uncirculated Mint set has a release date of May 14. Its price is not yet available.
Notice that the U.S. Mint continues to incorrectly use the word “Penny” for the Lincoln 1-cent coin or cent! This is simply wrong, incorrect numismatic terminology. The Mint even puts the word “Penny” under the photo of the cent on packaging & even on the official specifications Certificate of Authenticity signed by the U.S. Mint Director! The U.S. Mint has never stuck a penny, but some foreign Mints have. When will this situation be corrected U.S. Mint Director Mr. David J. Ryder?
NumisdudeTX
This is the best thing I’ve read all day!
Makes no cents!
If you go to the bank you ask for a roll of pennies, not a roll of cents. lol Maybe they should go back to the two cent or three cent piece!!! lol
They used a national narrative on the reverse of the western waters nickel in 2005. And corrected the spelling. inaccuracy is leading all astray of the truth
some of the 5 ounce silver apollo commemoratives are in stock for backorders. i just got an email from the mint and from ups that mine are being shipped and will be here on thursday (tomorrow).
When did you order and what was anticipated date.
i ordered the first day the apollo coins were listed about 1 minute after the opening start. my anticipated date was in april. the ups tracking system shows it is within about 15 minutes of my house.
The cockroach coins are on their way!!! They are blind but very fast!!!
lonnie,
Glad you got them. Might be hope yet for us to receive them sooner. How did you like them?
they are beautiful. i checked them out really good and they appear to be perfect.
Just received my mailer from US Mint How about the $5 gold commemorative release date March 14th, Eiffel tower & Eagle? Nice looking coin again $35 surcharge.
hi –
does ANY body know if the is coin is SAFE to keep in that stupid plastic bag?
why the mint choose not to encapsulated it – ???? thanks!
hi again – i see no one responded to my query….also confused as i thought “this” particular discussion was for the new 2019 proof set / W-cent…..i see a whole lotta other replies on thins OTHER than that…anyway – if anyone could please reply to my question about whether the new 2019-W cent is SAFE in the little plastic bag, i would be much indebted – thanks!
Howard, Coin is not safe in a plastic bag remove the coin wearing cotton gloves and put it in a secure hard plastic holder.
I hate that we could have had more mintmark variety in our circulating coins if only the U.S. Mint didn’t dishonestly release coins into circulation without their proper mintmarks. How many years of West Point and San Francisco cents would we have had if only they had been marked? I’ll admit it makes me wish cents had started using the P mark on Philadelphia cents starting in 1968 (or that the legislation authorizing the return of mintmarks had explicitly required the mint of origin to be indicated) because then I don’t think the Mint would have been able to get… Read more »
howard –
That coin is not safe for long-term storage in that flexible plastic baggie. That type of plastic has plasticiser chemicals like polyvinyl chloride that can damage a coin over time. Find a coin flip that doesn’t have PVC in it to store the coin.
Happy collecting!
NumisdudeTX
much obliged for the reply and the suggestion – thanks!
Sir,
I enjoyed reading your respons on the 2019 W cent not to leave it in the plastic bag. Is that true for the 1996 W dime?
Kind of a neat little addition to what had been routine sets with declining sales. I imagine some dealers will take all 3 cents and package them together in a hard case, then sell them for a jacked up price. But why does this news item have links to 10 year old articles?
I can’t believe it!!! Why is the mint releaseing special mint mark cents, when they should be eliminating them. It began last year with a cent with the P mintmark. I couldn’t get excited!!! Then this year they have not only one, but three cents with the W mint mark. I still can’t get excited!!! What would really get my attention would be a remake of the 1909 S VDB cent, Now that would be exciting
Just saying,
Get rid of the cent, put Lincoln on another denomination.
Chuck
I WISH PREMIUM MINT SETS USED BRONZE PENNY BLANKS INSTEAD OF PLATED YOU PAY MORE YOU SHOULD GET THE BEST
Check the box. My free cent was excluded.
Mine was damaged but they are not replacing them
I just got e-mail notification that my penny has been shipped. (Dennis, did you fill out the form and send it in?)
I called and they said that they would not replace it if i sent it in
Was yours damaged also?
The guy on the phone is just a guy on the phone. There’s a form buried in the hidden small type of the customer service section of the mint.gov webside that you forward (3 different ways) to them to explain your problem with the shipment.
I purchased this set just to get the W marked Penny. I paid for it with my credit card and it was mailed but then never delivered and FedEx tracking shows it was “lost” in shipment. I had to fill out a form and fax it to the US Mint and “should” hear back in 6 to 8 weeks. NOT GOOD SERVICE. They should have sent me another set right away or at least refunded my payment.
My 2019 Silver Proof Set arrived damaged, air pockets in one of the capsules, I spent 1 week and spoke to 9 US Mint reps. I couldn’t get anyone to send me a return label. I had to return the defective set on my dime. $11.15. Every rep that I spoke with gave me the same scripted response “We will issue you a return label in 24 to 48 hrs”. It never happened, I also had to enlist my credit union to obtain a refund. Despite having proof of delivery and the name of the person who received the defective… Read more »
Now it has been over two months and no news from the US Mint (other than they had received my claim form and would get back to me in 6 to 8 weeks). Meanwhile, I have quit buying anything from the US Mint. This stuff is almost worthless if you need to sell it and with this type of service I think I can a better hobby for my money.
Terry Hoffhines –
The 1996-W Unc. clad Roosevelt dime was packaged in a different type of stronger, flexible plastic that the Mint used for many years till 1964 for its annual Proof coin sets & is considered safe for storage. I kept most of mine in their original packaging & took the few I felt would grade very high out & had them graded/slabbed by PCGS.
Happy collecting!
NumisdudeTX
Tank you very much. I will let all of my buddies know about it.
Terry
Terry Hoffhines- Just yesterday 3-15 a Mint spokesperson said they are using a safe flexible plastic baggie (with no damaging PVC in it) for the three different Lincoln cents they are giving away with purchases of annual sets this year. But, I still would remove the first one since it is a Proof coin & the baggie is fairly large compared to the small size of the cent & it moves around in the baggie & can get hairline scratches on the surface of the coin. I would put them in a regular 2×2 coin flip that does not have… Read more »
Is it possible to buy rolls of West Point pennies
The 3 special one cent coins are”perks”for purchasing any of the 2019 proof set, silver proof set or the 2019 mint set. Technically you could have a roll if you bought 50 proof sets,50 silver proof sets or 50 mint sets.
Maybe these special cents are the mints way of finally thinking about deciding to get rid of these things somehow someday. Canada will have their nickel gone already too by the time they stop minting the cent.
If you buy something that comes to, say, $9.97, and you give them a $10 bill, how are they supposed to make change? Without a penny, they’d have to give you a nickel, and two cents more than they received, that doesn’t make much sense. I don’t understand this push to eliminate the penny.
Every other country in the world did it, because it is cost-prohibitive, and a waste of time for retailers, rounding is quite simple, we all do it. My friend, he visits China, he sees people throw their change on the ground often, do you know how much change is thrown away in the U.S. every year? Haven’t you seen the take a penny leave a penny jars at the gas stations? But, when you pay debit, or check you don’t have to round. For 9.97 they would round down and happily give you a nickel back. Canada’s next step will… Read more »
After reading the comments, I’m convinced a good number of the coin collectors of today have become, well, grumpy, and take themselves way too seriously, doesn’t anybody just enjoy collecting them anymore, without analyzing and criticizing every little thing? The world we live in
Well said, I quite concur! I love collecting, valuable or not. I also think I’m one of the few kids who agree, eliminating the penny makes no sense. For example, they price a lot of crops down to the ten thousandths of a penny. There is a tremendous value to the cent.
What do you all think the future of the ms-70, 2019-W Lincoln cent will be?