1948 (D) Lincoln Wheat Cent - Repunched Mintmark WRPM-018

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1948-D 1¢ WRPM-018, this Lincoln Wheat Cent exhibits a D/D repunched mintmark with the secondary punch tilted or rotated relative to the primary — a rotational RPM where the mintmark punch was held at a different angle during the second application, creating a distinctive visual signature where different portions of the secondary D show varying degrees of separation from the primary letter rather than a uniform directional shift. Obverse die markers include a die gouge in the field east of the lower area of the S in TRUST. The reverse carries extensive marker documentation: a die gouge at the right underside of the center horizontal bar of the E in ONE, a short weak north-south die gouge in the field right of center from the E in ONE, a wavy northwest-directed die scratch from the lower area of the right wheat stem with a die chip located above the right of the scratch, and a die scratch running northeast from the upper right side of the M in AMERICA. No cross-references to other cataloging systems are currently known. The 1948-D Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the Denver Mint in the standard bronze composition of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse Lincoln portrait, and the wheat ears reverse design served from 1909 through 1958. The extensive reverse die marker set — spanning multiple scratch and gouge features across the ONE CENT inscription, wheat stalks, and AMERICA — provides an unusually robust attribution fingerprint for this variety, giving collectors multiple independent verification points when examining potential WRPM-018 specimens. Tilted repunched mintmarks are among the more interesting RPM subtypes because the rotational component produces complex visual interference between the primary and secondary letter impressions.

Cross References

• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1948-D 1¢ WRPM-018

External References