1942-S Repunched Mintmark RPM-005

Description

The fifth documented repunched mint mark for the 1942-S Mercury Dime, RPM-005 shows an S/S repunching in the southwest direction — the initial S placement was followed by a second impression shifted slightly down and to the left, leaving the first punch position visible as a shadow to the northeast of the final S. The mint mark style is identified as MMS-005, known as the Straight Serifs S — a punch variety characterized by serif terminals that extend in straight lines rather than curving, distinguishing this punch from the Trumpet Tail (MMS-003) and other S mint mark varieties used at the San Francisco Mint. The identification of specific mint mark punch styles is an important aspect of Mercury Dime variety attribution, as the San Francisco Mint used multiple S punches during its production years, and matching the punch style to the variety helps confirm die identity. The southwest repunching direction differs from the west-west triple punch of the RPM-001 for the same date, demonstrating that different dies received their mint marks with different alignment errors. The 1942-S Mercury Dime was produced at the San Francisco Mint during the wartime era, and the series' hand-punched mint marks — each individually applied to every working die — generated the variety of positional errors that make RPM collecting a dedicated subspecialty within Mercury Dime numismatics.

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