1987D-1DEO-003T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Very faint trails emanating from the letters TRUS of TRUST at a 300-degree offset distinguish 1987D-1DEO-003T as the third and final trail die obverse cataloged for the 1987-D Lincoln Memorial cent. The 300-degree bearing places the trail direction toward the upper left of the die face, meaning the working die shifted in that direction during the hubbing process — producing ghost impressions that project from the affected letters in the corresponding angular trajectory. Although the trails are described as very faint, their detection under magnification is aided by the crisp lettering of the TRUST legend on the obverse, where even subtle secondary images register against the flat surrounding field. This variety was found by Jeremy Gardner, whose contributions to the trail die census for the 1987-D date include multiple attributions. Stage C in late die state is confirmed by diagnostic die markers on both faces: on the obverse, a die gouge appears above the 7 in the date, providing a geographic landmark that anchors attribution; on the reverse, a die dot sits below the second U in PLURIBUS, offering a secondary confirmation point. These late die state markers document a die pair that had already accumulated significant service wear before the trail effects became prominent enough to catalog. Struck at Denver on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm, from the 1987-D mintage of 4,007,632,740 cents.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jeremy Gardner
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References