1944 Repunched Mintmark RPM-009

Description

Recorded by VarietyVista, the 1944 RPM-009 Jefferson Nickel is a wartime silver alloy issue from the Philadelphia Mint with no directional displacement specified in the comments field, indicating the repunched P mintmark's secondary impression has not been formally characterized for direction in the current catalog entry. Die markers UVC-156 / DMR-010 document three progressive stages: Stage A at EDS (unconfirmed); Stage B with both reverse and obverse at MDS; and Stage C with reverse and obverse at LDS. The three-stage progression without additional die-specific markers (such as die cracks, gouges, or scratches) suggests this die pair ran a relatively clean production life without developing the distinctive deterioration features that often accumulate on heavily used dies. The wartime Jefferson Nickel was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1944, composed of the emergency alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese — a formulation adopted in late 1942 to conserve nickel for military armor plating and ordnance production during World War II. The coin weighs 5.0 grams with a diameter of 21.21 mm and features Felix Schlag's portrait of Thomas Jefferson on the obverse and the Monticello reverse with the oversized P mintmark placed above the dome. The 9th cataloged RPM for the 1944-P wartime nickel reflects the prolific output of repunched mintmark varieties during the war years, when the accelerated production pace and the unfamiliar large mintmark punch — substantially bigger than the standard-size punch used on other denominations — combined to increase the frequency of misalignment events during the manual mintmark application process at the Philadelphia facility.

Die Markers

• UVC-156
• DMR-010
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

External References