Minting Variation Question

That is a very broad question. Do you have a specific difference in mind?

That's a broad question, so a very broad answer would be yes, it's possible. As a die deteriorates the shape of the devices can alter.

A coin produced at the end of a die's production life can sometimes look significantly different from a coin produced at the beginning of a die's production life.

RPMs happen when the mintmark is is not placed exactly over a previous punch/punches?

1. Pre 1989 coins with a mintmark were punched into the dies with a mintmark punch.
2. Post 1990 coins will have the mint designation as part of the dies design.
3. When comparing mintmarks on post 1990 cents, keep in mind the design can be different from year to year.

So you need to compare them by year to see if they are the same size of larger/smaller.
4. Die polishing on dies can make the devices smaller on the coins struck. The devices are angled so the coins will fall away from the dies. The fields are the affected area on polishing.

Note on these images, the lower images devices are reduced in size because of the polishing. So the removal of the base of the devices (Which are the next to the fields) this can alter the size, making them smaller than non polished dies.
5. Hand punched pre 1989 coins that had the mintmarks added to the dies, can be larger because of not an exact punch, with the punch. These can be slight or huge. (Occasionally the mintmarks are not included on the design)

Making these a missing mintmark, when it really should be there.

So reduction of the mintmarks are a normal die event because of the die polishing. But enlarged mintmark (pre 1989 coins) could be a RPM. On post 1990 coins if the mintmark is doubled, then it is part of a doubled die.

These are not RPMs after 1990, but part of a doubled die.
So when Looking for RPMs, look for the enlarged mintmarks: (Even the die polishing can weaken RPMs also)















Note how all of these enlarged the mintmark size? Also The listing are in the 8 directions:


Also there are different types of RPMs:

So I hope I answered all of the questions with this topic?

CoopHome: What is a RPM? Are there different types of RPMs? Will they always be enlarged? Can mintmarks be smaller than a normal mintmark? looking for the punches on a mintmark will show you if it is a RPM or not. it should be enlarged larger than a normal mintmark. these can also happen with two different mintmarks as well, making these an over mintmark:




Inverted mintmarks:

The mintmark is enlarged, but no sign of multiple punches, then it is not a RPM:

The punching enlarged the mintmark, but no evidence of separate punches.

Need pics of the coins that you might have, in question. We could then give you a better answer, as to the differences you are seeing.