1973-D Repunched Mintmark WRPM-002

Description

Second in the Wexler repunched mintmark census for the 1973-D Kennedy half dollar, WRPM-002 shows a D/D southeast displacement — the secondary mintmark impression positioned below and to the right of the primary D on Gilroy Roberts's Kennedy obverse. The Wexler Team documented specific die markers for attribution: the obverse carries a light north-south die scratch inside the numeral 9 of the date, while the reverse features a very short north-south die scratch inside the right lower side of the U in UNITED. These paired die markers provide a two-step confirmation pathway independent of the repunched mintmark itself, allowing collectors to verify they are examining the correct die marriage before focusing on the mintmark displacement. Denver struck approximately 83.17 million half dollars in 1973, a volume that required numerous working die pairs and created multiple opportunities for mintmark punching irregularities. Repunched mintmarks on Kennedy half dollars from this era resulted from the manual process of individually punching the D mintmark into each obverse working die — when the first punch landed slightly off target, the die maker struck a corrective blow at the intended position, leaving a secondary ghost image at the original placement. The southeast direction indicates the first impression landed to the lower right of where the final D sits, and remnants of that initial placement should be visible as extra serifs or a faint outline extending below and to the right of the primary mintmark. The Wexler Team cataloged this under Wexler Variety ID: 1973-D 50¢ WRPM-002. Collectors should first check for the die scratch inside the 9 on the obverse and the scratch in the U on the reverse to confirm the die, then examine the D mintmark under 15-20x magnification for the southeast-displaced secondary impression.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Scott Rusch Cross-References: None known
• Wexler Variety ID: 1973-D 50¢ WRPM-002
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References