Although the Philadelphia Mint will likely strike billions of 2017-P Lincoln cents for collectors to find in circulation at face value, examples of the first cents in U.S. Mint history to be struck with a P Mint mark are currently generating secondary market premiums.

The 2017-P Lincoln cents struck for circulation as well the special finish cents created for inclusion in the 2017 Uncirculated Mint set are a one-year type. The addition of the P Mint mark is part of the U.S. Mint’s 225th anniversary year celebrating the contributions to the nation’s coinage history by each production facility.

The P Mint mark will not be included in the design for Philadelphia Mint cents struck beginning in 2018.

Connect with Coin World:  

Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on Twitter

Collectors will have to be diligent to find single problem-free coins or coins by the roll of circulation strikes. A number of the armored carriers that roll the coins for banks receive their shipments from the Philadelphia Mint in containers that hold hundreds of thousands of coins. The jostling of the cents in these containers ensures that, while the coins are Uncirculated, many will have contact marks from banging into each other.

Although the coins are rolled into 50-coin rolls, those rolls may comprise exclusively new coins, or they may also contain a mix of older circulated coins.

The 2017-P Lincoln cents packaged in the annual Uncirculated Mint set, to be offered by the U.S. Mint sometime this year, are generally of higher quality than the cents mass-produced for circulation.

What might the final mintage be for the 2017-P cents? Nearly 4.7 billion 2016 Lincoln cents were struck to fill Federal Reserve orders for circulation. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of 2016 Lincoln cents were struck for the 2016 Uncirculated Mint set. Similarly, the Philadelphia Mint struck nearly 4.7 billion 2015 Lincoln cents for circulation.

Secondary market

Littleton Coin Co. in Littleton, N.H., plans to offer the 2017-P Lincoln cents to collectors as soon as they can secure a supply. The firm already has a product number assigned to the coins, to be offered individually for 25 cents each.

Mark Chaplin, owner of Virg Marshall III Inc., in Wymore, Neb., said he has not been able to obtain any of the 2017-P Lincoln cents, although he has received a significant number of collector inquiries.

Chaplin said since 2009 he’s faced considerable obstacles from the Federal Reserve in obtaining quantities of current-year coins to offer to collectors who can’t secure them in their own geographic areas. He said he hasn’t been able to order current-year coins directly through the Fed or their carriers for years.

Lincoln cent:  The popular Lincoln cent has gone through several reverse updates since it was introduced in 1909 to honor the nation's 16th president on the 100th anniversary of his birth. How much are Lincoln cents worth?

A number of sellers on eBay have completed confirmed sales for a single 2017-P Lincoln cent along with a 2017-D cent from the Denver Mint as part of a two-coin set, or 50-coin rolls of strictly 2017-P Lincoln cents.

Buy It Now options are being offered by an Apex, N.C., seller for 10 rolls of the 2017-P cents for $65, with free shipping.

Free shipping is also offered by sellers of two-coin sets. A Wildomar, Calif., seller is offering two-coin P and D sets for $1.49. 

A Shelton, Wash., seller offered single 2017-P cents for 99 cents with 49 cents shipping.

A Mascotte, Fla., seller was offering four 2017-P and 2017-D sets for $6 postpaid while another seller from Panama City, Fla., offered the same configuration at $2.65.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., seller had confirmed sales of 50-coin rolls of the 2017-P cents for $8.

Brooklyn seller Daniel Liu says his supply of 2017-P Lincoln cents is currently limited. “My friend at the bank ordered more pennies, but told me they’re all 2016s which means Garda [armored car company that rolls coins on behalf of the Federal Reserve] is drawing into their stock, and will soon need to replenish their stocks,” adding, “I would expect to see more 2017-P coins in February-March.”

Liu says he was able to acquire a total of $75 face value worth of the 2017-P cents, or 150 rolls containing 7,500 coins.

His inventory is nearly sold out in roughly a week, with just seven rolls left as of Jan. 31, one roll of which he was retaining to sell as double-coin lots.

“Yes, demand seems to be high, as buyers are willing to pay $8 for a roll, and $1.65 for two coins,” Liu said. “It seems to be higher for buyers in the central to West of the country, although I’ve seen a few sales to buyers here in the East as well. However, I do believe demand will start to slow as more and more 2017-P coins reach circulation.”