2004D-1DER-002WS Trail Die Reverse

Description

Documented in the Trail Dies catalog and discovered by Mark Holmoe of Arizona, the 2004D-1DER-002WS is a trail die reverse variety found on the 2004 Denver Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent. Trail die varieties occur when a die receives an unintended secondary impression of the design during manufacturing or press setup, creating a faint ghostly duplicate of the design elements offset from their primary positions — a phenomenon distinct from hub doubling in that trail die impressions originate from die-to-die contact events rather than from the hub-to-die transfer process. Die marker documentation identifies Stage C at late die state (LDS), with the obverse showing a die gouge to the right of the 4 in the date and the reverse displaying a small die gouge below the E of STATES along with die gouges in the U of UNITED. The LDS designation for Stage C indicates this is a later-documented die state where accumulated production wear has added these secondary markers on top of the trail die impression, and the multiple reverse gouges around STATES and UNITED provide clustered identification points within the upper portion of the Memorial reverse design. The Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck at the Denver Mint in 2004 in copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.50 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse and Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait together comprise one of the most prolific coin designs in U.S. history. Mark Holmoe's discovery in Arizona demonstrates the geographic reach of the trail die collecting community, where specialists across the American Southwest and beyond contribute to the systematic documentation of these specialized die varieties.

Die Markers

• Stage “C”, obverse is LDS – die gouge to the right of the 4 in the date.
• Reverse is LDS – small die gouge below the E of STATES. Die gouges in the U of UNITED.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mark Holmoe
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References