1955-D Over Mint Mark WOMM-004

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team and cross-referenced as CONECA OMM #4, this over mintmark variety carrying the designation 1955-D 5¢ WOMM-004 was struck on a 1955-D Jefferson nickel at the Denver Mint. The Jefferson nickel, designed by Felix Schlag and introduced in 1938, is composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel, weighing 5.0 grams with a 21.2 mm diameter and a plain edge. Denver struck 74,464,100 nickels in 1955, a substantial production figure for the post-war era. Over mintmark varieties occur when a mintmark punch is applied to a die that already bears a different or previously positioned mintmark impression, and the underlying first punch remains partially visible beneath the final placement. In the case of WOMM-004, the remnants of the initial mintmark position can be detected through careful examination of the D mintmark area on the reverse. Obverse die markers provide essential attribution diagnostics: a die scratch runs from southwest to northeast to the left of the upper chin and lower lip, a distinctive linear feature that helps confirm the specific die. The reverse carries an even richer set of markers: a die scratch runs from west-northwest to east-southeast just below the mintmark position, two short parallel die scratches appear between the lower E and P in E PLURIBUS UNUM, a nearly horizontal die scratch is located between the N and T in MONTICELLO, and numerous additional die scratches are distributed throughout the reverse surface. Over mintmark varieties on Jefferson nickels from the 1950s are collected with particular enthusiasm because the era's hand-punched mintmark application process made such errors relatively more common than in later decades when mechanical methods improved mintmark placement consistency. The 1955-D WOMM-004 is the fourth cataloged over mintmark for this date and mint, indicating a die where the initial punch was improperly placed and subsequently corrected.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: CONECA: OMM #4
• CONECA: OMM #4; Wexler Variety ID: 1955-D 5¢ WOMM-004
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References