1987P-1DEO-005T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Late die state deterioration dominates the diagnostic profile of 1987P-1DEO-005T on the 1987 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, with Stage C markers revealing a die pair that had seen extensive use before being documented. The obverse carries light scratching to the right of the Y in LIBERTY — a relatively restrained marker for late die state — while the reverse tells a more dramatic story of die degradation: random heavy scratching covers the reverse surface, and die chips appear in both the E and N of CENT. Die chips represent material that has physically broken away from the die face, leaving voids that transfer as raised lumps on struck coins, and their presence in two letters of CENT indicates the reverse die's surface integrity had significantly deteriorated by the time these specimens were struck. The random heavy reverse scratching further documents a die surface covered in irregular scoring, likely from a combination of metal flow, die polishing attempts, and accumulated contact damage. Trail die effects on the obverse interact with this severe late die state condition: as die surfaces degrade, trail-induced distortion can become harder to distinguish from ordinary deterioration doubling, requiring attributors to evaluate the directionality and consistency of any secondary images against the more random patterns of general die wear. Struck at Philadelphia (no mint mark) on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm, from the 1987 mintage of 4,682,466,931 cents.

Die Markers

• Stage “C”, obverse is LDS – Light die scratching to the right of the Y in LIBERTY.
• Reverse is LDS – Random, heavy die scratching on the reverse. Die chips in the E and N of cent.

External References