1912-S Repunched Mintmark WRPM-002

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team under identifier 1912-S 1¢ WRPM-002, this repunched mintmark on the 1912-S Lincoln Wheat cent documents a San Francisco Mint die where the S mintmark was punched into the die more than once, with the second impression slightly offset from the first. Repunched mintmarks were a routine occurrence in the pre-1990 era of U.S. coinage, when individual mintmarks were hand-punched into each working die by Mint engravers using a small steel punch — a process inherently prone to slight misalignment between successive blows. The 1912-S cent is a scarce date with a mintage of only approximately 4.4 million pieces, far below the output of contemporary Philadelphia issues, and any variety on this date carries the added premium of base-date scarcity. Reverse die markers include a long die scratch running north-south between the upper right wheat ear and the rim, providing a secondary diagnostic for confirming the specific die independent of the mintmark examination. No additional cross-references to CONECA or other attribution services have been established. The San Francisco Mint in 1912 was operating from its second facility at Fifth and Mission Streets, completed in 1874 and later replaced by the current building on Hermann Street, and its cent production that year used dies shipped from the Philadelphia die shop with the S mintmark applied locally. Collectors of early Lincoln cent varieties prize RPMs from the Teens decade because they document the hand-craftsmanship of the mintmark application process during the series' foundational years, before any standardization of punch positioning was attempted.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lloyd Hanson Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1912-S 1¢ WRPM-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References