1987-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-013

Description

Closing the thirteen-variety RPM census for the 1987-D Lincoln Memorial cent, RPM-013 shows the D displaced to the northwest (D/D Northwest) and is cataloged as UVC-1139 and DMR-015. The northwestern displacement indicates the initial D punch landed slightly southeast of the intended position, requiring a corrective punch to the northwest that established the final placement while leaving a residual southeastern shadow. Like RPM-012's UVC-1119, the UVC-1139 identifier for RPM-013 falls outside the original sequential block (1013-1023), confirming that both closing entries were documented after the initial eleven-variety census was established. The three-stage documentation covers Stage A at early die state, Stage B with both obverse and reverse at mid-die state, and Stage C at late die state, completing the standardized progression that characterizes most entries in this series. Thirteen repunched mint marks from a single date-mint combination document the range of human variability in the hand-punching process — from the westward, northward, and southwestern displacements of the early catalog numbers to the clockwise rotation of RPM-012 and the northwestern offset of this final entry. This census captures the twilight of hand-punched mint marks on Lincoln cents, as the transition to single-squeeze hubbing with pre-applied mint marks would soon render the RPM variety class functionally extinct. Struck at Denver on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm, from the 1987-D mintage of 4,007,632,740 cents.

Die Markers

• UVC-1139
• DMR-015
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Eric Axtell
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References