1992D-1DER-016T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Lincoln's portrait on the obverse die bears the diagnostic mark for 1992D-1DER-016T: die damage on Lincoln's forehead line, where a gouge or chip interrupts the sculptural detail of the portrait itself rather than affecting the surrounding field or lettering. Portrait-area die damage is particularly useful for attribution because the human eye naturally gravitates to facial features when examining a coin, making forehead-line damage among the first things a trained examiner notices when screening 1992-D cents for trail die varieties. Found by Bill Slaughter of Arkansas and documented at Stage B in a Mid Die State (MDS), the reverse carries a companion marker — a die gouge above and to the left of the O in OF — placing diagnostic features on both faces of the coin. The forehead line on Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait is a fine engraved detail representing the horizontal creases of Lincoln's brow, and die damage intersecting this line creates a visible disruption in the portrait's facial topography. Among the eighteen 1992-D trail die varieties, 016T is the only one documented with damage specifically on this anatomical feature of the portrait, giving it a unique and memorable diagnostic signature. Struck at Denver on copper-plated zinc planchets, 2.5 grams, 19mm, plain edge.

Die Markers

• Stage “B “, obverse is MDS – die damage is seen on Lincolns forehead line.
• Reverse is MDS – a die gouge is seen to above and to the left of the O in OF

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bill Slaughter
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References