1897 Repunched Date WRPD-001

Description

Cataloged as WRPD-001, this 1897 Liberty Head Nickel carries the primary repunched date variety for the year within Charles Barber's iconic "V Nickel" series (1883-1912). Repunched dates occur when the four-digit date punch is applied more than once to the working die, with a slight positional shift between impressions that leaves overlapping or offset numeral images visible on struck coins. In the late nineteenth century, each working die received its date individually by hand — an engraver positioned a four-digit logotype punch against the die face and struck it with a mallet, and any misalignment on the first blow necessitated a corrective second impression that created the telltale doubled date imagery. As the first cataloged repunched date for the 1897 Liberty Head Nickel, WRPD-001 serves as the benchmark variety against which subsequent discoveries for this date are measured. The variety is cross-referenced as Flynn RPD-001 and Peters & Mohon PM-34.1, providing dual third-party attribution that broadens its recognition across multiple reference systems used by variety collectors and dealers.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Evelyn Huhn Cross References: Flynn: RPD-001, Peters & Mohon: PM-34.1
• Flynn: RPD-001, Peters & Mohon: PM-34.1; Wexler Variety ID: 1897 5¢ WRPD-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References