1991P-1DER-003T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Featuring a 330-degree offset, 1991P-1DER-003T on the 1991 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent produces light trails on the tops of columns 4 and 5, the tops of TED in UNITED, and parts of EPU in E PLURIBUS UNUM. What makes this variety particularly instructive is that the trails on TED cross over the horizontal bars of the affected letters — the ghost impressions from the offset die contact pass directly through the crossbars and serifs of these letters, demonstrating how trail die marks interact with existing design elements on the die surface. This crossing pattern helps attributors distinguish genuine trail die effects from die scratches or other linear anomalies, since the trails maintain consistent character across both raised and recessed areas of the die. The Stage A Early Die State (EDS) designation indicates this coin was struck early in the die's production run, with die markers including a gouge on top of the left post and a gouge over the left Memorial base on the obverse. The 330-degree offset (equivalent to a 30-degree rotation from the standard 360/0-degree position) represents a relatively slight misalignment that produced subtle but diagnostically significant trail impressions. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, weighing 2.5 grams and measuring 19mm. DIE MARKERS : Stage “A”, obverse is EDS – none noted Reverse is EDS – die gouge on the top of the left post. Die gouge over the left base of the Memorial building.

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