1944 Repunched Mintmark RPM-021

Description

Documented by VarietyVista, the 1944 RPM-021 Jefferson Nickel is a wartime silver alloy issue from the Philadelphia Mint. No directional displacement is specified in the available comments for this variety, leaving the P/P orientation uncharacterized in the current catalog entry. Die markers UVC-168 / DMR-022 track three stages: Stage A at EDS (unconfirmed); Stage B with both reverse and obverse at MDS; and Stage C with reverse and obverse at LDS. As the 21st cataloged RPM for the 1944-P wartime nickel, this variety falls within the middle range of the documented RPM population for this date, which produced a substantial number of repunched mintmark varieties during the third full year of silver alloy nickel production. The Jefferson Nickel was designed by Felix Schlag and struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1944, composed of the wartime alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese, weighing 5.0 grams with a diameter of 21.21 mm. The 1944-P wartime nickel was produced in substantial quantities to meet civilian transaction needs while military operations consumed vast amounts of nickel for armor and ordnance applications. The oversized P mintmark above Monticello's dome — introduced in 1942 as the first-ever P mintmark on United States coinage — required manual punch application to every working die, and the larger physical size of this punch compared to the standard small mintmark punches used on other denominations made precise placement more challenging. Each of the 21+ RPM varieties documented for the 1944-P date represents a unique working die where the engraver's initial punch placement deviated enough from the intended position to necessitate a corrective re-punch, leaving overlapping P impressions visible to collectors examining the mintmark area under magnification.

Die Markers

• UVC-168
• DMR-022
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Reverse and Obverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• Reverse and Obverse are LDS

External References