1942-S Repunched Mintmark RPM-007

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die marker codes UVC-128 and DMR-009, this 1942-S Lincoln Wheat Cent RPM-007 exhibits a repunched S mintmark from the San Francisco Mint, produced in the year before the wartime composition change to zinc-coated steel. Three die stages are documented: Stage A in early die state (EDS), unconfirmed; Stage B with both obverse and reverse at mid-die-state (MDS); and Stage C at late die state (LDS), also unconfirmed. The MDS confirmation for Stage B provides the baseline die condition for typical specimens, when both dies exhibited moderate production wear while retaining sufficient mintmark detail for clear RPM attribution. The 1942-S Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the San Francisco Mint in standard bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) weighing 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. The 1942-S is historically significant as the final San Francisco bronze cent before the 1943 zinc-coated steel composition change, making it the last "normal" S-mint Lincoln Cent before the wartime metals conservation program altered cent production for three years. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait, and the wheat ears reverse was in its 34th year of continuous production. The San Francisco Mint applied its S mintmark through manual punch operations, with the seventh cataloged RPM for the 1942-S documenting one of multiple mintmark positioning corrections that occurred across the facility's pre-war working die population. Collectors of wartime-era Lincoln Cents often seek RPM varieties from both 1942 (bronze) and 1943 (steel) to illustrate the transition period, and the UVC-128 identifier places this variety within the comprehensive VarietyVista tracking system.

Die Markers

• UVC-128
• DMR-009
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References