Philadelphia minted proofs

[FingerGrime]

I have found several possible proof cents and nickels that were made before proofs were being made at the San Fransisco mint. Is there any way to definitively tell whether or not one of these coins is a proof or just a regular mint release with a reflective surface? Were there any minor variations in the design between the proofs and business strikes?

 

[sitman]

A proof coin is struck two or more times, so all of the details will be much sharper than on a single struck business strike coin. This also results in a high wire edge. The brilliant, mirrorlike field surfaces are due to the cleaning and polishing of the blanks and dies.

There is typically no difference in design between the proof and business strike coins.