1998D-1DER-004T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Discovered by Jean Lee, the 1998D-1DER-004T is a dual directional trail die on the Lincoln Memorial cent, a particularly unusual variety exhibiting reciprocal trail lines at both 090° and 270°. The first set of trail lines at 090° is visible from the T of CENT, the designer's initials, the stylobate, the corners of the cornice and roof, and the C of AMERICA. The second set at 270° appears on the bottom of the NE of ONE and the left base tip of the Memorial Building. Dual directional trail dies are considerably rarer than single-direction examples, as they indicate two separate instances of die-to-die contact at opposing rotational angles. The documented specimen is at Stage B, with the obverse in very late die state showing a group of die gouges above LIBERTY and a smaller group above the date, while the reverse is at mid-die state. This disparity between obverse and reverse die states suggests the obverse die had significantly more use than its reverse counterpart. Trail die varieties from the late 1990s Denver Mint represent an important period in the systematic cataloging of this error type.

Die Markers

• Stage “B “, obverse is VLDS – a group of die gouges is seen above LIBERTY. Another smaller group of die gouges is seen above the date.
• Reverse is MDS – none noted

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jean Lee
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References