1971S-1DEO-001T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Among the rarest error types in the Lincoln Memorial cent series, this trail die obverse on the 1971-S proof Lincoln Memorial cent — cataloged as 1971S-1DEO-001T by Trail Dies — documents a die that received an incomplete hubbing impression, leaving ghostly traces of design elements slightly shifted from their intended positions. Trail dies are created when the hub and working die fail to achieve full contact during the hubbing process: the incomplete impression transfers a partial, distorted echo of design features that appears on struck coins as faint, displaced shadows alongside the properly positioned primary design. The LIBERTY inscription shows distortion visible under different lighting conditions, with the attributor noting that two different photographs taken under varied illumination reveal the extent of the design displacement — a detail confirming that the trail die effect requires specific lighting angles to fully appreciate, as the faint secondary impression can appear or disappear depending on how light falls across the coin's surface. Stage A die markers include an almost vertical die scratch in front of Lincoln's bow tie on the obverse and a diagonal die scratch on the left side of the first digit in the date, both at EDS. No notable reverse markers have been documented at this stage. The proof format of this trail die is particularly significant: San Francisco's proof striking process — multiple impressions at elevated tonnage on polished planchets — would have faithfully reproduced the trail die distortion with mirror-field precision, potentially making the ghostly secondary design traces more visible against the highly reflective proof surfaces than they might appear on a business strike. Trail dies are sufficiently uncommon that even a single documented specimen represents a notable contribution to the error catalog for any date, and 1971S-1DEO-001T stands as the sole trail die obverse recorded for the 1971-S Lincoln Memorial cent.

Die Markers

• Stage “A “, obverse is EDS – An almost vertical die scratch is seen in front of Lincoln’s bow tie. A diagonal die scratch is seen on the left side of the 1 digit in the date.
• Reverse is EDS – none noted.

External References