1974-S Repunched Mintmark WRPM-001

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as 1974-S 1¢ WRPM-001, this repunched mint mark variety on the San Francisco Mint Lincoln Memorial cent displays the mintmark as S/S South — meaning the initial "S" punch was placed slightly north of its final position, and the corrective re-punch drove the dominant impression southward, leaving a ghost image of the first attempt visible above the primary mint mark. This variety is further identified as a Small Date, referring to the specific proportions of the date numerals on this die. Repunched mint marks were a natural consequence of the manual mint mark application process used during this era: each working die received its mint mark from a separate hand punch, and any positional misalignment between the first and second impressions left visible evidence of the correction on finished coins. WRPM-001 is distinguished by an exceptionally detailed set of die markers on both sides of the coin. On the obverse, a small die gouge appears to the right of Lincoln's eye, another die gouge runs south from Lincoln's nose, a short die scratch runs west-southwest below the lower B in LIBERTY, and a short die scratch runs roughly south from the left bottom of the Y in LIBERTY. The reverse carries its own constellation of diagnostics: a small die gouge (dot) below the first U in PLURIBUS, a small die gouge (dot) to the right of the E in ONE, a die gouge under the left side of the second A in AMERICA, a thin die crack on the right cornice of the Memorial, a small die gouge (dot) under the right upper portion of the T in CENT, and two die scratches running northeast from the upper portion of the fourth column. This wealth of die markers — spanning both obverse and reverse — makes WRPM-001 one of the most thoroughly documented repunched mint mark varieties for the 1974-S date. The San Francisco Mint produced approximately 409 million business strike cents in 1974, a modest figure compared to Philadelphia's and Denver's multi-billion-piece runs but still substantial enough to have consumed numerous die pairs over the course of the production year.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Daniel Griffin (Discovered by Aisha Shahid) Cross-Reference: Coppercoins: 1974S-1MM-001 Comments: The apparent upper serif and horizontal line on the top of the mint mark is part of a damaged punch for the year. The lower split serif and horizontal line is the true RPM. This coin is a replacement die for the original WRPM-001, which was discovered to be the damaged punch. Additionally, the WRPM-002 listing has been deleted as the damaged punch. Second example of WRPM-001 below to illustrate doubling.
• Wexler Variety ID: 1974-S 1¢ WRPM-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References