1943 S LWC RPM?

[cpk20]

I am trying to attribute this 1943-S LWC. There appears to be a RPM S in the SE position. It does not fit any of the current listings on Vista Variety. The only other identifier I found on the coin was a small die crack/scratch on the right side and running into the N in ONE on the reverse. The coin is in a generic set of steel cents. I have attached pictures. It was difficult to come up with decent pics due to glare and the plastic case. Did not want to crack open the case as of yet.

[mustbebob]

What helps us in this case is that the same type of doubling is also visible on the date (especially the 4). These steel cents are loaded with doubling like this which is attributed to die deterioration and/or MD.

[cpk20]

Thanks. Upon much closer inspection, there is die deterioration and MD. I did not notice the ever so slight, I mean very slight plateau near the mint mark. Had to actually tilt and use reflection to see it. Have seen many with one or the other. This is the first time I came across this type of combination and added it to the memory bank. While on the subject of S steel cents. It seems common that the mint mark is weak due to grease. Am I correct on this assessment? I have a graded PCGS MS66 where the mint mark is almost indistinguishable. I also have some raw coins that are more distinguishable and can make out a slight daisy pattern from the grease being displaced on some but not others.

[mustbebob]

There are a few reasons why the mint mark is like this, and the most plausible reason is that it wasn't punched hard enough into the die by the Mint technicians. Struck through grease is a good possibility also. Being that this is a one year only type, there are many anomalies that showed up on these coins. In my personal experiences, you are correct in that S mint 1943 coins did show a lot more errors, although there were more than enough to go around by all 3 mints.