What does the p mean on a penny?

Answer 1

It was minted in Philadelphia

CorrectionThe penny is the only current coin denomination that does not have a P mint mark. Thus there are no cents with a "P" under the date, only a "D" indicating Denver.

If you have a coin that's the size of a cent with a very large P instead of a picture of Abraham Lincoln, you have what's called a "mint medallion". These are struck on cent blanks and have been included with uncirculated Mint sets for a number of years. They're interesting but because they don't have dates they don't have any collector value.

MorePrior to 1979 the only Philadelphia coins to have a P mint mark were the famous "war nickels" minted from 1942 to 1945. Anthony dollars minted in 1979 were the first Philly coins to standardly use a P mint mark.

Starting in 1980 the use of a "P" for Philadelphia was extended to all other denominations except the cent. Among other reasons, there are occasional times when the San Francisco and West Point mints mint additional pennies when demand is high. Even though millions are made the quantity is small by comparison to Philadelphia and Denver, so the coins are all made without mint marks to avoid creating instant rarities.