1972-S Repunched Mintmark WRPM-001

Description

First cataloged repunched mintmark for the 1972-S Proof Kennedy Half Dollar, WRPM-001 preserves evidence of the manual mintmark application process on one of the flagship denominations of U.S. proof coinage. Before the Mint adopted hubbed mintmarks in 1990, each S mintmark was individually hand-punched into working dies at San Francisco, and any misalignment between the initial and corrective punches created the overlapping impressions that define an RPM. The Kennedy Half Dollar, introduced in 1964 following President Kennedy's assassination, was in its ninth year of clad production by 1972. The proof version was struck at San Francisco exclusively for inclusion in annual proof sets, where the mirror-like fields and frosted devices provide ideal conditions for detecting repunched mintmark evidence. Attributed by the Wexler Team under Wexler Variety ID: 1972-S 50¢ Pr WRPM-001, no other cross-references are currently known. The WRPM-001 designation indicates this was either the first discovered or the most prominent RPM for the date. Proof Kennedy Half Dollar varieties carry broad collector appeal due to the popularity of the series, and the 1972-S proof set production of approximately 3.26 million sets means a meaningful population of this variety exists in collections and proof set holdings.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tony Russo Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1972-S 50¢ Pr WRPM-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References