1971-D Repunched Mintmark RPM-005

Description

Fifth in the VarietyVista repunched mintmark catalog for the 1971-D Lincoln Memorial cent, RPM-005 documents a westward mintmark displacement — D/D West — on an ODV-028 obverse die featuring the re-engraved bowtie. The westward shift means the secondary D punch landed to the left of the primary impression, producing extra metal visible on the left side of the final mintmark under magnification. Cataloged with die markers UVC-950 and DMR-006, this variety tracks through three die stages. Stage A at Early Die State preserves the westward repunching at its clearest, when the ghost D is sharpest against the surrounding field. Stage B at Mid Die State records moderate die fatigue as production wear begins softening fine details while the repunched mintmark evidence remains attributable. By Stage C at Late Die State, cumulative striking has advanced deterioration toward terminal condition. RPM-005's westward displacement provides directional contrast within the 1971-D catalog — joining the tilted varieties (RPM-001 through RPM-003) and the southward RPM-004, while RPM-006's northward shift would complete the cardinal-direction coverage. The ODV-028 re-engraved tie on RPM-005 links it to RPM-002 as the second variety on this obverse die variant, distinguishing both from the ODV-027 group (RPM-001, RPM-003, RPM-004). For cherry-pickers examining 1971-D cents, the bowtie check provides a rapid first-pass sorting criterion before detailed mintmark examination begins.

Die Markers

• UVC-950
• DMR-006
• Stage A:
• Obverse and Reverse are EDS
• Stage B:
• MDS (unconfirmed)
• Stage C:
• LDS (unconfirmed)

Attribution History

• Discovered by Eric Axtell
• Expert attribution by VarietyVista

External References