1971-S Repunched Mintmark RPM-001

Description

Primary repunched mintmark variety for the 1971-S proof Washington quarter, RPM-001 documents a diagnostic S/S South — indicating the mintmark was punched at least twice with the secondary impression displaced southward (downward) from the primary position. The Washington Clad and Silver Proof Quarters series produced at San Francisco from 1965 through 1998 featured individually hand-punched mintmarks on each working die, and the RPM-001 designation for this date establishes it as the most notable repunched mintmark identified on the 1971-S proof quarter. John Flanagan's Washington portrait obverse, in production since 1932, carries the S mintmark at the base of the portrait near the date, where the small letter's serifs and curves provide surfaces that reveal secondary punch impressions. San Francisco's proof production in 1971 generated specially struck coins on polished planchets using chrome-plated dies, and the proof manufacturing process's sharper strike can actually enhance the visibility of repunched mintmark diagnostics by preserving fine detail that might be lost on circulation strikes. The S/S South directional notation means the first (or secondary) punch impression sits below the final (primary) position, creating a visible shadow or extension beneath the S mintmark. Repunched mintmarks result from the die engraver's need to position the small mintmark punch precisely — when the first impression was deemed slightly off-position, a corrective second punch was applied, but the original impression persisted in the die, transferred to every coin struck from that die. As RPM-001, this represents the most significant or most visible of the repunched mintmark varieties documented for the 1971-S proof quarter, and collectors should examine the lower portion of the S mintmark under 15-20x magnification for evidence of the southward-displaced secondary punch.

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