1937-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-007

Description

Cataloged within the VarietyVista system as UVC-202 / DMR-008, this 1937-D Buffalo Nickel RPM-007 is a repunched mintmark variety where the Denver Mint D was applied to the reverse working die more than once, leaving visible traces of the initial misaligned impression beneath or adjacent to the final placement. Three die stages document this die pair's production progression: Stage A shows both the reverse and obverse in early die state (EDS), Stage B shows both in mid-die-state (MDS), and Stage C is late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The Buffalo Nickel, designed by James Earle Fraser, features a composite portrait of a Native American chief on the obverse and an American bison standing on a mound on the reverse, with the D mintmark positioned on the reverse beneath the denomination FIVE CENTS. Repunched mintmarks on Buffalo Nickels document the hand-punching process used at the Denver Mint, where each working die received its D mintmark individually through a manual punch-and-mallet procedure. The 1937-D Buffalo Nickel was struck at the Denver Mint in the penultimate year of the series before the Jefferson Nickel replaced it in 1938, in copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel) weighing 5.00 grams with a diameter of 21.21 mm. The 1937-D had a mintage of approximately 17.8 million pieces, making it one of the more available late-date Buffalo Nickels. Fraser's design, which debuted in 1913, is widely regarded as one of the most artistically accomplished in American coinage, and the hand-applied mintmark variations documented across the series' Denver and San Francisco issues provide a rich collecting field that RPM-007 contributes to within the 1937-D die population.

Die Markers

• UVC-202
• DMR-008
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References