1938 (D) Buffalo Nickel - Repunched Mintmark RPM-007

Description

Filed under VarietyVista die references UVC-223 and DMR-008, this 1938-D Buffalo Nickel RPM-007 represents another distinct repunched mintmark die from the final year of the Buffalo Nickel series, alongside RPM-009 and other varieties documented for this date-mint. Three die stages provide production chronology: Stage A with both reverse and obverse in early die state (EDS), Stage B with both in mid-die-state (MDS), and Stage C in late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The 1938-D Buffalo Nickel marks the end of James Earle Fraser's 25-year design that ran from 1913 through 1938, one of the longest tenures in American coinage history for a non-Lincoln design. Struck in copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel) weighing 5.00 grams with a 21.21 mm diameter at the Denver Mint, the 1938-D had a mintage of approximately 7.0 million pieces. Fraser's design was replaced mid-year by Felix Schlag's Jefferson Nickel, meaning the 1938-D Buffalo was produced only during the first portion of the year before the changeover. The hand-punching of the D mintmark onto each reverse working die continued to generate the small positioning variations that variety collectors document as RPMs, and the multiplicity of RPM varieties within the final-year 1938-D die population provides a rich attribution field for the series' terminal date.

Die Markers

• UVC-223
• DMR-008
• Stage A:
• Reverse and Obverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References