1942-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-010

Description

Documented by VarietyVista under die codes UVC-119 and DMR-012, the 1942-D RPM-010 is a repunched mintmark variety found on the Lincoln Wheat Cent produced at the Denver Mint in 1942, the year before wartime exigencies forced the temporary switch to zinc-coated steel planchets. Although no specific directional shift is recorded in the comments for this RPM, the die stage documentation provides a useful progression record: Stage A at early die state (EDS, unconfirmed), Stage B with both obverse and reverse confirmed at mid-die-state (MDS), and Stage C at late die state (LDS, unconfirmed). The confirmed MDS designation for Stage B means that verified specimens exist showing the dies at their intermediate wear level, offering a reference point between the crisp detail of early strikes and the softened features of late die state coins. The 1942-D cent was struck in the standard pre-war bronze composition of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams at 19.05 mm diameter. This was the last full year of bronze cent production before 1943, when copper was reallocated to wartime ammunition manufacturing and the U.S. Mint temporarily produced cents on zinc-coated steel blanks. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse Lincoln portrait, introduced in 1909 as the first regularly circulating U.S. coin bearing a president's likeness. The wheat ears reverse completed the design. The Denver Mint's 1942 cent production was substantial as the wartime economy accelerated demand for circulating coinage, and RPM-010 documents one instance of hand-punched mintmark repositioning from that high-volume production period.

Die Markers

• UVC-119
• DMR-012
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• Obverse and Reverse are MDS
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

External References