1952-S Repunched Mintmark RPM-009

Description

Assigned VarietyVista catalog codes UVC-442 and DMR-011, the 1952-S RPM-009 Lincoln Wheat Cent records an S repunched mintmark from the San Francisco Mint with the standard three-stage die state progression. Stage A captures both obverse and reverse in early die state, Stage B shows both at mid-die-state, and Stage C at late die state remains unconfirmed — the unconfirmed LDS status suggesting that either the die was retired before reaching advanced wear or that specimens from the die's final production period have not yet been identified and reported. The 1952-S Lincoln Cent was struck during the Korean War era, when United States coinage production maintained consistent output to support the domestic economy during the military conflict. Composed of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc at 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter, the 1952-S cent was among the final decade of wheat cent production — the reverse design would be replaced by Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial in 1959. Victor David Brenner's obverse Lincoln portrait continued unchanged. The ninth cataloged RPM for the 1952-S date demonstrates the persistence of mintmark misalignment events at the San Francisco Mint into the early 1950s, by which time the manual mintmark punching process had been in continuous use for decades. The DMR-011 die marriage reference indicates this mintmark repunching occurred within a specific die pairing that VarietyVista has cataloged for cross-reference with any other varieties that may share the same obverse or reverse die. Examination under 10x magnification centered on the S mintmark area reveals the displacement between primary and secondary punch impressions.

Die Markers

• UVC-442
• DMR-011
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References