1947-S Repunched Mintmark WRPM-016

Description

Sixteen repunched mint marks documented on the 1947-S Lincoln Wheat Cent reveal the consistent nature of die preparation at the San Francisco Mint during the immediate postwar years, where hand-punching of the S mint mark onto each working die produced a measurable rate of detectable misalignment. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID 1947-S 1¢ WRPM-016, this variety preserves the diagnostic trace of the S being struck into the die surface more than once — an artifact of the die setter repositioning the punch between applications. The San Francisco facility had operated under wartime pressure from 1941 through 1945, and while 1947 brought a return to normal operations, the institutional habits of rapid die preparation persisted. Each RPM variety represents a unique working die, and the growing catalog of 1947-S RPMs provides researchers with a partial census of the obverse dies San Francisco consumed during that year's cent production. This variety carries no additional cross-references beyond the Wexler catalog. Collectors searching for 1947-S RPMs benefit from the date's ample surviving population in circulated grades, keeping examination material accessible.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Ben Peters Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1947-S 1¢ WRPM-016
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References