1992D-1DER-006T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Documented at Stage C in a Late Die State (LDS), 1992D-1DER-006T illustrates how advanced die wear both reveals and obscures trail die features. The trail lines themselves are light — faint extensions from the left and top corners of UN in UNITED, plus faint trails from the corner of the left base line — oriented at a 260-degree offset. But the Late Die State brings its own visual complexity: multiple small die dots have accumulated in and around the letters of LIBERTY on the obverse, with similar clusters around the date and mint mark, creating a field of incidental surface marks that can compete for the examiner's attention when searching for the subtle trail features on the reverse. On the reverse, a die gouge sits under the left base line just above the O in ONE. Found by Bill Slaughter of Arkansas, this variety demonstrates a diagnostic challenge inherent to late-state dies — the same prolonged use that allows trail phenomena to develop also produces die deterioration features (dots, scratches, flow lines) that can obscure the very trails a collector is trying to identify. Careful comparison against known die marker photographs is essential, since the constellation of obverse die dots provides a reliable fingerprint for this specific die even when the trails themselves are difficult to resolve. Struck at Denver on copper-plated zinc planchets, 2.5 grams, 19mm, plain edge.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bill Slaughter
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References