1987D-1DER-009WST Trail Die Reverse

Description

Closing the 1987-D reverse trail die census at nine varieties, 1987D-1DER-009WST carries the WST suffix that denotes a combined wide spread and tilted trail — the most complex trail die classification, indicating the hub both shifted laterally and tilted during the secondary hubbing impression. This dual-motion mechanism produces a trail pattern that blends the broad displacement field of a wide spread with the angular intensity gradient of a tilt, creating distortion that varies in both magnitude and direction across the die face. Discovered by Richard Cooper, this variety is documented at Stage A in early die state, making it a rare capture of trail die effects before significant die deterioration has accumulated. Early die state trail dies are particularly valuable to researchers because the trail features are uncontaminated by the flow lines, die cracks, and surface degradation that develop as a die ages — offering a cleaner view of the original hubbing anomaly. The obverse die marker is a die gouge above ER in LIBERTY, while the reverse records die damage in bay 5 of the Memorial. Bay numbering on the Lincoln Memorial reverse refers to the recessed spaces between columns, and bay 5 falls in the central portion of the building facade — a specific architectural landmark that distinguishes this die from others in the census. 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.

Die Markers

• Stage “A“, obverse is EDS – a small die gouge is seen in the field above the ER of LIBERTY.
• Reverse is EDS – die damage is seen in bay 5.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Richard Cooper
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References