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1946-S
Mintage: 27,900,000 (All types)
Design types are the same as those for the 1946 Philadelphia issues.
Comment: There appear to be several different types of "S" mintmarks that were employed by the San Francisco Mint in the production of the Roosevelt dime series. Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins mentions two of these as being of the "trumpet-tailed" and the "knob-tailed" styles. According to Breen, the "trumpet-tailed" style mintmark has the tail of the "S" flared like the bell shaped end of a trumpet. The "knob-tailed" style mintmark has the tail of the "S" ending in an oval knob. According to Breen, the "trumpet-tailed" and "knob-tailed" varieties were reportedly used in unison through 1954, and that the "trumpet-tailed" style was the only style used in 1955.
More recent research done by Bill Fivaz on San Francisco mintmarks and the years in which each were employed suggests that the “knob-tailed” style was used in 1946 and then discontinued. Observation seems to back this assertion as examples of “knob-tailed” mintmarks on coins from 1947 to 1955 appear to be nonexistent. Fivaz also reports that a third style of mintmark known as the “sans-serif” was used in 1946 and 1947. The “sans-serif” style is reported to be extremely rare on coins from 1946.
While Walter Breen was certainly a titan among numismatic authors, his descriptions of the different San Francisco mintmark styles can be confusing. While the description of the “trumpet-tailed” style seems accurate, the “knob-tailed” style might be better described as having a knob or teardrop shape to its upper tail. The lower tail of this “knob-tailed” style often appears to be blunt, flat or squared off. It is also interesting to note that when this style is used on a coin many observers seem to feel that it has been positioned upside down. Examples of each are shown below.
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"Sans-serif"
Repunched Mint Mark List
1946-S RPM #1
S/S/S/S Northwest, East, and Northeast
Note: The reverse of this coin is also a doubled die variety identifiable as 1-R-II-C+V-CW.
1946-S RPM #2
S/S Southeast
Note: The reverse of this coin is also a doubled die variety identifiable as 2-R-IV. It has also been cataloged in the Cherrypickers’ Guide by
Fivaz and Stanton as FS-011.6.
1946-S RPM #3
S/S East
Note: This reverse has been paired with the obverse doubled die identifiable as 10-O-II-C.. The reverse of this coin is also a doubled die variety. Doubling is evident on the top of UNITED.
1946-S RPM #4
S/S/S Southwest and Northeast
Note: The reverse of this coin is also a doubled die variety identifiable as 5-R-II-C.
1946-S RPM #5
S/S Southwest
1946-S RPM #6
S/S West
1946-S RPM #7
S/S West
1946-S RPM #8
S/S North
Note: this reverse has been paired with the obverse doubled die identifiable as 5-O-II-C+V-CW.
1946-S RPM #9
S/S Southeast
Note: The reverse of this coin is also a doubled die variety identifiable as 4-R-II-C. This reverse has been paired with an obverse doubled die. Minor doubling is evident on the “Y” of LIBERTY and lightly on the top of the head.
1946-S RPM #10
S/S/S West and South
Note: The reverse of this coin is also a doubled die variety identifiable as 6-R-II-C.
1946-S RPM #11
S/S North
1946-S RPM #12
S/S West
1946-S RPM #13
S/S North
1946-S RPM #14
S/S South
1946-S RPM #15
S/S North
Note: This reverse is listed as doubled die
7-R-II-C. It has been paired with the obverse
doubled die listed as 1-O-II-C.
1946-S RPM #16
S/S West
1946-S RPM #17
S/S West
1946-S RPM #18
S/S/S West and West
1946-S RPM #19
S/S Northwest
1946-S RPM #20
S/S West
Doubled Die List
1946-S 1-O-II-C PUP: Medium spread on LIBERTY,
upper hair, and face. Very
light doubling on JS and IN GOD
WE TRUST.
Note: This obverse has been paired
with the reverse doubled die
identifiable as 7-R-II-C and
RPM #15.
1946-S 2-O-II-C PUP: Light spread on JS top to bottom
and date.
1946-S 3-O-II-C PUP: Light doubling on the JS top to bottom and date.
1946-S 4-O-II-C PUP: Light spread on JS top to bottom,
date, and IN GOD WE TRUST.
1946-S 5-O-II-C+ PUP: Medium spread on LIBERTY. Light
V-CW spread on forehead and IN GOD WE
TRUST.
Note: This obverse has been
paired with the reverse
having RPM #8.
1946-S 6-O-II-C PUP: Light spread on JS top to bottom
and date.
1946-S 7-O-II-C PUP: Light spread on date, JS top to bottom,
IN GOD WE TRUST, and base of
bust.
1946-S 8-O-II-C PUP: Light doubling on date and JS top to
bottom.
1946-S 9-O-II-C PUP: Light spread on JS and date.
1946-S 10-O-II-C PUP: Medium spread on JS, date, and
TRUST.
Note: This obverse has been
paired with the reverse
having RPM #3.
1946-S 11-O-V-CW PUP: Medium spread on JS top to
bottom, date, IN GOD WE TRUST,
and neckline.
1946-S 12-O-V-CW PUP: Light spread on LIBERTY, IN GOD
WE TRUST, and very light spread on
JS.
1946-S 13-O-II-C PUP: Light doubling on JS top to
bottom and date.
1946-S 1-R-II-C- PUP: Strong doubling on US UNUM and
V-CW leaves and branches of right
side. Doubling is moderate on
AMERICA and DIME.
Note: This reverse is also
identifiable as having
RPM #1.
1946-S 2-R-IV PUP: Strong spread on UNITED STATES,
flame of torch, plus the leaves
and branches on the left side.
Doubling is light on E PLURIB.
Note: This reverse is also
identifiable as having
RPM #2. This coin is also
cataloged in Cherrypickers’
Guide by Fivaz and Stanton
as FS-011.6.
1946-S 3-R-II-C+ PUP: Light doubling on UNITED, ONE,
V-CW DIME, AMERICA, and E PLU.
1946-S 4-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on DIME, RICA of
AMERICA, and NUM of UNUM.
Note: This reverse is also
identifiable as having
RPM #9. It has also been
paired with an obverse
doubled die. Doubling is
evident on "Y" of LIBERTY
and top of head.
1946-S 5-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on leaves and
branches of the right side,
ERICA, ONE DIME, and UNUM.
Note: This reverse is also
identifiable as having
RPM #4.
1946-S 6-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on ONE DIME, UNUM,
Right stem, and the right dot.
Note: This reverse is also
identifiable as having
RPM #10.
1946-S 7-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on ONE DIME.
Note: This reverse has been paired
with the obverse doubled die
identifiable as 1-O-II-C and
RPM #15.
1946-S 8-R-II-C+ PUP: Medium spread on OF AMERICA,
V-CW UNUM, and right branch and leaves
with a strong split stem and medium
rotational spread on ONE DIME.
1946-S 9-R-II-C+ PUP: Medium spread on AMERICA,
V-CW UNUM, right branch leaves with
rotational spread on DIME.
1946-S 10-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on OF AMERICA,
UNUM, DIME, and right stem.
1946-S 11-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on AMERICA, UNUM,
and DIME.
1946-S 12-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on UNITED and ONE.
1946-S 13-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on UNUM and DIME.
1946-S 14-R-II-C+ PUP: Medium spread on AMERICA,
V-CW UNUM, and Right branch leaves with
rotational spread on DIME.
1946-S 15-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on OF AMERICA,
UNUM, and DIME.
1946-S 16-R-II-C PUP: Light spread on AMERICA and DIME.
