1938 (S) Lincoln Wheat Cent - Repunched Mintmark WRPM-004

Description

San Francisco's cent production in 1938 was relatively modest at 15.18 million pieces, yet the die pool still generated enough mintmark placement variations to produce four documented RPMs. WRPM-004 (Wexler Variety ID: 1938-S 1¢ WRPM-004) is the fourth cataloged repunched mintmark for this date, showing evidence of the S punch being applied more than once to a working die. The S mintmark punch used at San Francisco differed in form from Denver's D — its curved letter shape produced distinctive overlap patterns when repunched, often showing as secondary serif impressions or a shadow S slightly offset from the final position. The 1938-S Wheat Cent circulated during the final year of peacetime normalcy before the outbreak of World War II in Europe, and many specimens saw sustained use through the war years. Four RPMs from a mintage of 15 million represents a notable proportion of the die pool, suggesting that mintmark application corrections occurred on a meaningful fraction of working dies. Collectors examining 1938-S cents for this variety should compare findings against all four documented WRPMs. Attributed by the Wexler Team without additional catalog cross-references.

Cross References

• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1938-S 1¢ WRPM-004

External References