1938 (D) Lincoln Wheat Cent - Repunched Mintmark WRPM-010

Description

In the final full year before war erupted in Europe, Denver's cent production continued the steady output that characterized the late 1930s recovery — and the die preparation process continued generating repunched mintmarks. WRPM-010 (Wexler Variety ID: 1938-D 1¢ WRPM-010) is the tenth documented RPM for the 1938-D Lincoln Wheat Cent, a date with a mintage of 20.01 million pieces. Ten RPMs from a production run of that size represents a meaningful proportion of the working die pool, suggesting that mintmark placement corrections were routine rather than exceptional. The 1938 date is also significant as the year the Buffalo Nickel series ended and the Jefferson Nickel was introduced — a transition that reflected broader changes at the U.S. Mint, though hand-punching for mintmarks remained unchanged. Each of the ten documented RPMs for this date shows a unique combination of secondary punch direction and displacement, and distinguishing WRPM-010 from the nine other varieties requires careful comparison under magnification. This variety has not been listed in additional reference catalogs beyond the Wexler attribution. Cataloged by the Wexler Team.

Cross References

• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1938-D 1¢ WRPM-010

External References