1996P-1DER-026T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Trail lines extending from the tops of the letters in E PLURIBUS UNUM, STATES, and OF characterize this 1996 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent reverse trail die, with the offset direction measured at 340 degrees — placing the trail drag in the upper-left direction. Trail dies form during the hubbing process when the die shifts laterally relative to the hub, dragging partially impressed design elements across the die surface and leaving faint raised lines that trail away from the affected letters. This die was discovered by Joshua Haynes. Die markers identify the die at Stage B: the obverse is in late mid-die state (LMDS) with a die dot below Lincoln's eye, while the reverse is also LMDS with a small die gouge on the inside left of the O in ONE. The twenty-sixth documented trail die reverse for the 1996-P cent reflects the intense examination that mid-1990s Lincoln Cents have received from trail die specialists, a relatively newer area of die variety study cataloged by the Trail Dies research group. The 1996 Philadelphia Mint cent was struck during the high-mintage clad era, and the volume of dies consumed across billions of coins produced created many opportunities for the slight lateral movements during hubbing that generate trail die signatures.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Joshua Haynes
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References