1941-S Repunched Mintmark WRPM-004

Description

Fourth repunched mintmark cataloged for the 1941-S Jefferson Nickel, WRPM-004 preserves evidence of the hand-punching process used to apply mintmark letters to individual working dies at mid-century American minting facilities. Obverse die markers include a short die gouge protruding from the top of the D in GOD and a horizontal die scratch below the TY in LIBERTY — features that distinguish this die pair from the other three documented RPMs for the 1941-S date. The reverse carries a large S mintmark, with a die scratch running northwest from the top left of the first T in STATES to the I in FIVE, and parallel die scratches running south-southeast from the bottom right of the M in MONTICELLO. The 1941-S date was produced at San Francisco in the final months before the United States entered World War II following Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and the pre-war nickel composition of 75% copper / 25% nickel would continue only briefly before the wartime silver alloy was introduced in mid-1942. Felix Schlag's Monticello reverse, featuring Thomas Jefferson's Virginia home, provided the backdrop against which the large S mintmark was hand-positioned into each working die. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1941-S 5¢ WRPM-004, no additional cross-references are known.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Brian Ribar Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1941-S 5¢ WRPM-004
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References