1945-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-002

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die marker codes UVC-188 and DMR-003, this 1945-D Lincoln Wheat Cent RPM-002 holds the second catalog position among repunched mintmark varieties for the 1945-D date-mint combination. Three die stages are documented: Stage A in early die state (EDS), unconfirmed; Stage B at mid-die-state (MDS), also unconfirmed; and Stage C with both obverse and reverse confirmed at late die state (LDS). The LDS confirmation for Stage C indicates the documented specimens were produced when both dies had accumulated substantial wear near the end of their service lives — late die state coins may exhibit softened design details, additional die cracks, and other progressive deterioration markers that developed after the initial RPM variety was created during die manufacturing. The 1945-D Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the Denver Mint in the distinctive shell case bronze composition (95% copper, 5% zinc without the tin normally included in the alloy, as tin was reserved for military applications) weighing 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. The 1944-1945 shell case cents were produced from recycled brass cartridge casings, giving them a subtly different appearance from standard pre-war bronze cents. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait, and the wheat ears reverse continued through the war years. The 1945-D's substantial wartime mintage required numerous working dies at the Denver Mint, each receiving its D mintmark through individual hand punching — the second cataloged RPM confirming that mintmark positioning corrections were a regular occurrence in Denver's wartime die preparation operations.

Die Markers

• UVC-188
• DMR-003
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

External References