The coin was not supposed to be available to the public until mid-April.
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) has certified a 2019-W Reverse Proof Lincoln Cent that was mistakenly released several weeks early by the US Mint. The coin was not supposed to be released until April 17.
This year, the US Mint is releasing three different 2019-W cents, which are notable for being the first cents to bear the "W” mint mark of the West Point mint. Each cent is included as a "premium coin” with different US Mint Sets for no additional charge. The 2019-W cents are:
- a 2019-W Proof Cent, which was included with the Clad Proof Set released on March 1
- a 2019-W Reverse Proof Cent, which will be included with the Silver Proof Set scheduled to be released on April 17
- a 2019-W Uncirculated Cent, which will be included with the Uncirculated Coin Set scheduled to be released on May 14
Proof coins feature mirrored fields and frosted devices (such as Lincoln’s bust). Reverse Proof coins are opposite, with the fields frosted and the devices mirrored. Uncirculated coins are those struck in the same format as circulation issues.
The 2019-W Reverse Proof Cent recently certified by NGC was submitted as part of a bulk submission of 2019-W Proof Lincoln Cents. It was graded NGC PF 69 RD REVERSE PROOF. To note the special nature of this particular coin, the NGC certification label has the pedigree: "Mistakenly Included With Clad Proof Set.”
As of April 4, this is the only 2019-W Reverse Proof Cent that has been seen by NGC, which has already graded more than 8,500 of the 2019-W Proof Cents.
Because this coin was mistakenly released ahead of the US Mint’s scheduled release date, NGC has not started the 30-day window for submissions of 2019-W Reverse Proof Cents for its Early Releases and First Releases designations. Those cutoff dates will be posted when the 2019-W Reverse Proof Cents are officially released.
