1981-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-001

Description

Cataloged by VarietyVista under internal tracking code UVC-561 and die marriage reference DMR-002, this 1981-D Jefferson Nickel holds the primary catalog position as RPM-001 for the date-mint combination. No directional or rotational comments are recorded in the source data, suggesting the displacement pattern may require closer examination to categorize or that the original documentation prioritized die state information over displacement classification. Die stage documentation records three states: Stage A where both obverse and reverse are at early die state, Stage B at mid-die-state (unconfirmed), and Stage C at late die state (unconfirmed). The confirmed EDS for both dies in Stage A provides the sharpest possible preservation of the repunched mintmark detail before any production-related die wear diminishes the clarity of the overlapping D impressions. The Jefferson Nickel was designed by Felix Schlag and struck at the Denver Mint in 1981, composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel at 5.00 grams with a 21.21 mm diameter. The early 1980s represent the twilight era of hand-punched mintmarks on U.S. coinage — within approximately nine years, the Mint would transition to incorporating mintmarks directly into master dies, eliminating the possibility of new repunched mintmark varieties for all denominations that adopted the new process. The 1981-D RPM-001 therefore documents one of the final generations of hand-punched mintmark events in the Jefferson Nickel series, a practice that had remained essentially unchanged since the series' inception in 1938. Early die state specimens from Stage A are particularly valuable for documenting the full detail of the repunching before subsequent die wear softens the diagnostic features.

Die Markers

• UVC-561
• DMR-002
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References