1972-S Repunched Mintmark RPM-002

Description

Tracked by VarietyVista under die marker codes UVC-1238 and DMR-004 with the diagnostic notation S/S North, this 1972-S Proof Washington Quarter RPM-002 represents the second-listed repunched mintmark variety for the date-mint combination, displaying an S/S repunch where the secondary impression is positioned north of the primary. The northward offset indicates the mintmark punch’s initial placement sat lower than intended, requiring a corrective second strike that established the final S position while leaving the original impression’s remnant visible beneath it. Three die stages document the die’s service history: Stage A is mid-die state (MDS, unconfirmed); Stage B confirms both obverse and reverse surfaces at MDS; Stage C is late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The 1972-S Proof Washington Quarter was produced at the San Francisco Mint as part of the annual proof set program, struck on polished planchets with specially treated dies to achieve the characteristic mirror fields and frosted devices of proof coinage. Copper-nickel clad composition (8.33% nickel balance copper) yields a weight of 5.67 grams at 24.26 mm diameter. John Flanagan’s Washington Quarter design, featuring George Washington’s profile after Houdon’s bust on the obverse and a heraldic eagle clutching arrows and olive branch on the reverse, was in its 40th year of production. Multiple RPM varieties from the 1972-S proof quarter — including RPM-001 through RPM-004 — document the variability inherent in the manual mintmark punching process even on dies destined for proof production, demonstrating that the hand-applied nature of mintmark placement introduced positional variation regardless of the intended striking quality of the final coins.

Die Markers

• UVC-1238
• DMR-004
• Stage A:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References