1945-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-002

Description

As the final year of both the Mercury Dime series and World War II, the 1945-D RPM-002 carries valedictory significance no other date can match. This D/D repunching displaced west — the secondary D visible left of the primary — documents one of the last instances of hand-punched mintmark imprecision on a coin type about to cease production. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head had debuted in 1916, and after thirty years of continuous service, it was retired following 1945 coinage to make way for the Roosevelt Dime, authorized to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died in April 1945 and whose association with the March of Dimes made the ten-cent piece a natural memorial. The westward repunching manifests as a ghost D extending from the left side of the primary, where the initial impression was placed slightly too far left. Germany surrendered in May and Japan in August, and Denver's production bridged the transition from wartime to peacetime economy. Every 1945 Mercury Dime is a last-year coin, but RPM-002 adds die variety interest to that terminal status. Struck in 90% silver at 2.50 grams and 17.9mm. Examine the left edge of the D for the westward secondary impression.

External References