Since the age of 59 1/2 was reached before the Series of substantially equal periodic payments based on life expectancy were started why would the code be 1 and not 7 be entered from the beginning of the 1 St year payments were made?
You would have to ask the issuer of the 1099-R that question. Perhaps they have your age listed wrong or made an error. You can ask them for a corrected 1099-R or just use the penalty exception.
BTW: The exception for being over age 59 1/2 is "other" on the exception screen - see the blue "explain this".
Yes, if you have a code 1 in Box 7 of your 1099-R instead of 7 (normal distribution), you may have to pay 10% early withdrawal penalty.
There are exceptions to the 10% tax penalty for early
distributions: