1941-S Repunched Mintmark RPM-010

Description

Tracked by VarietyVista under die codes UVC-108 and DMR-012, the 1941-S RPM-010 Lincoln Wheat Cent shows an S/S repunched mintmark displaced to the northwest — the secondary S punch was placed slightly above and to the left of the primary impression, leaving a shadow of the first S extending to the southeast beneath the corrected final position. The die stage progression differs from many RPM varieties in this series: Stage A documents both obverse and reverse in early die state (EDS), while Stage B is mid-die-state (MDS, unconfirmed) and Stage C is late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The confirmed EDS designation for Stage A means authenticated specimens exist showing both dies in their freshest condition, with the sharpest mintmark repunching detail. Produced at the San Francisco Mint in 1941, the year America entered World War II following the December attack on Pearl Harbor, this cent was struck in the standard pre-war bronze composition of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc — a formula that would be temporarily abandoned in 1943 when copper was diverted to wartime ammunition production and cents were struck on zinc-coated steel planchets instead. Each coin weighs 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse Lincoln portrait, while the wheat ears reverse completed the design that had been in continuous production since 1909. The San Francisco Mint struck approximately 92.4 million cents in 1941, and the northwest displacement on RPM-010 documents the hand-punch mintmark application process that remained standard practice at all branch mints through the 1960s.

Die Markers

• UVC-108
• DMR-012
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by James Wiles
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References