1945-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-009

Description

Documented by VarietyVista with die marker codes UVC-196 and DMR-011, this 1945-D Lincoln Wheat Cent RPM-009 features a repunched D mintmark from the Denver Mint during the final year of World War II. 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 is noteworthy because it means the documented specimens of this variety were struck when both dies had accumulated substantial wear — late die state coins often show softened details and potentially additional die cracks or deterioration markers that developed over the die's extended service life, and the repunched mintmark may be somewhat less distinct than it would appear on hypothetical early die state specimens. The 1945-D Lincoln Wheat Cent was struck at the Denver Mint in the distinctive shell case bronze composition (95% copper, 5% zinc — without tin, which was reserved for military use) weighing 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. The 1944-1945 shell case cents used recycled brass cartridge casings, and the slightly different alloy sometimes gives these cents a subtly different color tone compared to the standard pre-war and post-war bronze composition. Victor David Brenner designed the obverse portrait, and the wheat ears reverse continued its service. The ninth cataloged RPM for the 1945-D documents the Denver Mint's ongoing manual mintmark application during wartime, when production pressures may have contributed to the frequency of mintmark positioning corrections across the facility's working die population.

Die Markers

• UVC-196
• DMR-011
• Stage A:
• EDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• Obverse and Reverse are LDS

External References