1946-S Improper Mint Mark WIMM-001

Description

Cataloged by the Wexler Team, this 1946-S Lincoln Wheat Cent bears an inverted Ball Serif S mintmark — a punch orientation error where the S was installed upside down in the die. On the normal Ball Serif S, the ball is at the top right; when inverted, it appears at the bottom left. The authors of The Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties refer to this style of S punch as the Knob Tail S. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID 1946-S 1-cent WIMM-001; no other cross-references known. Inverted mintmark varieties document punch handling errors during die preparation at the Philadelphia Mint, where all working dies received their mintmarks before shipment to branch facilities. Composed of 95% copper and 5% tin-zinc at 3.11 grams and 19.05 mm, the 1946-S was the first post-war San Francisco Wheat Cent.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Robert Neff Cross References: None known Comments: On the normal Ball Serif S mint mark the “ball” is at the top right of the mint mark. When inverted the “ball” is at the bottom left of the mint mark. The authors of The Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties refer to this style of S mint mark punch as the “Knob Tail S. Inverted Ball Serif S Mint Mark Normal Ball Serif S Mint Mark
• None known Comments: On the normal Ball Serif S mint mark the “ball” is at the top right of the mint mark. When inverted the “ball” is at the bottom left of the mint mark. The authors of The Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties refer to this style of S mint mark punch as the “Knob Tail S. Inverted Ball Serif S Mint Mark Normal Ball Serif S Mint Mark; Wexler Variety ID: 1946-S 1¢ WIMM-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References