1987P-1DER-005WS Trail Die Reverse

Description

Closing the five-variety Philadelphia reverse trail die census for 1987, 1987P-1DER-005WS carries the sparsest documentation of any entry in the batch — no die markers, no die stage comments, and no specific trail effect descriptions beyond its wide spread classification. This minimal documentation profile highlights an important aspect of trail die cataloging: some varieties are listed based on confirmed hub-shift evidence visible on submitted specimens even when the submitter did not record the detailed marker and stage data that accompanies more thoroughly documented entries. The wide spread designation itself confirms that the trail die mechanism was verified — a lateral hub shift during die manufacture that displaced design elements uniformly across the contact area — but the absence of supporting details means attribution must proceed through direct comparison with whatever reference imagery the original cataloger preserved. For collectors encountering a potential 1987-P wide spread reverse trail die that does not match entries 001WS through 004WS, this fifth variety becomes a candidate, and confirmation would require consulting the original listing source. Five wide spread reverse trail dies from the 1987 Philadelphia production, combined with the seven obverse trail dies, documents a total of twelve trail die varieties for this single date-mint combination — a census that reflects both the enormous 4,682,466,931 mintage and the systematic search effort applied to this era of Lincoln Memorial cent production. Struck at Philadelphia (no mint mark) on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Louis Schaeffer
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References