1963-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-001

Description

Positioned to the southeast of the primary impression, the secondary D mintmark on this 1963 Denver Mint Washington Quarter creates the doubled-mintmark signature that collectors identify as a repunched mintmark variety. Cataloged as RPM-001 for the date, this is the first documented RPM for the 1963-D Washington Silver Quarter. The southeast displacement indicates that the initial punch struck slightly high and to the left, requiring a corrective second blow that landed at the intended position. This hand-punching technique was the standard method for applying mintmarks to working dies from the earliest days of branch mint operations through 1989. The 1963-D quarter was struck in 90% silver — the penultimate year of silver quarter production before the Coinage Act of 1965 ended the practice — and Denver's output that year contributed to a national coin shortage that prompted the Treasury to remove mint dates from coins temporarily. Higher-magnification color digital photographs are needed for complete documentation of this variety, as the original specimen studied was not captured at modern photographic standards. John Flanagan's Washington portrait quarter had been the standard design since 1932, and RPM varieties on the series are actively collected because each branch mint die received its mintmark individually, creating unique opportunities for positioning errors.

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