1953-S Repunched Mintmark WRPM-007

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1953-S 5¢ WRPM-007, this Jefferson Nickel is a repunched mintmark variety where the S mintmark received multiple applications during die preparation at the San Francisco Mint, with evidence of the earlier positioning remaining visible alongside the final corrected placement. Obverse die markers include a small die gouge to the right of the lower Y in LIBERTY — a precise location reference that helps confirm this specific obverse working die when examining potential specimens. The reverse shows a die scratch running from southwest to northeast through the V in FIVE. No cross-references to other cataloging systems are currently known. The Jefferson Nickel was designed by Felix Schlag, who won a public design competition in 1938 with his obverse Jefferson portrait and Monticello reverse, both of which served continuously until the 2004-2005 Westward Journey redesign. Struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1953 in standard copper-nickel composition (75% copper, 25% nickel) weighing 5.0 grams with a diameter of 21.21 mm, the 1953-S had a mintage of approximately 19.2 million pieces. The San Francisco Mint's mintmark application process in the early 1950s involved hand-punching a small steel S punch into each individual working die, with the engraver positioning the punch over the intended location behind Monticello on the reverse die face and striking it with a mallet. Each application carried the potential for slight positional deviation, and when the first impression missed the target by a detectable margin, the corrective second application created the diagnostic S/S overlap pattern. As the seventh cataloged RPM for the 1953-S nickel, this variety documents one of several measurable mintmark positioning variations within the die population for this particular date-mint combination.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lloyd Hanson Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1953-S 5¢ WRPM-007
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References