 In 1964 , a rise in the price of silver led to silver coins being hoarded by the public . With change short , hoarding extended to the cent , which also became scarce in circulation . Mint Director Eva Adams felt that part of the reason for the shortage was coin collectors taking pieces from circulation , and Adams ordered that mintmarks no longer appear on coins . Coins continued to be dated 1964 until the end of 1965 , using authority given by the Coinage Act of 1965 , and almost all 1965 cents were actually struck in 1966 . The Mint began striking clad dimes and quarters , replacing the silver pieces which the public would not spend . Although coinage had been stopped at San Francisco after 1955 , the California facility began to issue cents again , though without mintmarks . In 1968 , mintmarks were restored to the cent . San Francisco began minting a limited number of circulation strikes ( which it would cease to do after 1974 ) and began striking proof coins . 
