1953S-5DER-001T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Complementing the obverse trail die 1953S-5DEO-001T from the same die pair, this reverse trail die on the 1953 San Francisco Mint Jefferson Nickel records the other half of a single ejection failure event. Where the obverse trail die captures a ghost reverse image beneath the primary obverse design, this reverse counterpart carries a ghost obverse impression — a faint shadow of Jefferson's portrait — layered beneath the full-pressure Monticello reverse. Robert Pelletier discovered both varieties, recognizing that the paired obverse and reverse ghost impressions originated from the same coin lingering in the coining chamber. Documented in Stage B with both sides in mid die state and no significant die markers noted, the reverse trail die shares identical die state characteristics with its obverse companion, consistent with their origin from a single production incident. Trail die pairs like this one are particularly valuable to researchers because they confirm the mechanism of the error: a single stuck coin simultaneously transferred its reverse onto the next obverse and its obverse onto the next reverse, creating matched ghost impressions.

Die Markers

• Stage “B“, obverse is MDS – none noted
• Reverse is MDS – none noted

Attribution History

• Discovered by Robert Pelletier
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References