1938-D Repunched Mintmark WRPM-008

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team and cross-referenced as CONECA RPM #7, this 1938-D Lincoln Wheat cent displays a D/D South repunched mintmark — a secondary D impression positioned south of the primary D, revealing that the Denver mintmark punch was applied twice with the first impression landing below the intended final position. Obverse die markers include inverted V-shaped die scratches above the Y in LIBERTY and numerous die scratches above the TY of LIBERTY, providing distinct identification points independent of the mintmark doubling. No additional reverse die markers have been noted in the current attribution. The 1938-D Lincoln Wheat cent was struck at the Denver Mint in 95% copper and 5% tin-and-zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm. The 1938-D had a mintage of approximately 20.0 million pieces, a moderate figure for the Depression era when mintages had contracted significantly from their late-1920s peaks. Repunched mintmarks on Lincoln cents from this period document the manual die preparation process in which individual mintmark punches were hand-positioned and hammered into working dies at the branch mints — a technique that inevitably produced occasional positional errors when the punch was not seated precisely on the first blow. The inverted V-shaped die scratches above LIBERTY suggest either die polishing artifacts or contact damage during die handling, and their distinctive shape makes them particularly useful for confirming attribution on specimens where the repunched mintmark area may be weakly struck or partially worn.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lloyd Hanson Cross References: CONECA: RPM #7
• CONECA: RPM #7; Wexler Variety ID: 1938-D 1¢ WRPM-008
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References