1996P-1DER-035T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Found by Michael Pope, this Philadelphia Memorial Cent shows light trail lines from the top right corners of EPU at an offset of 060 degrees. Trail die varieties result from lateral die movement during striking, producing faint directional ghost lines from raised features. Stage B markers: obverse MDS with small die dots around the two nine digits of the date; reverse MDS with a small die gouge over the S of PLURIBUS. Struck in copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.5 grams at 19.05 mm, the 1996-P cent was produced at Philadelphia. Gasparro's Memorial reverse design, depicting the Lincoln Memorial with its columnar architecture, served from 1959 through 2008. Trail dies on Memorial Cents gained systematic attention during the 1990s when specialists recognized these subtle impressions as distinct from mechanical doubling.

Die Markers

• Stage “B”, obverse is MDS – small die dotes can be seen around the two nine digits of the date.
• Reverse is MDS – a small die gouge can be seen over the S of PLURIBUS.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Michael Pope
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References