2007P-1DEO-007T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Seventh cataloged trail die obverse for the 2007 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent, 2007P-1DEO-007T documents faint ghost-like traces of design elements appearing shifted from their normal positions — a phenomenon produced when a die receives an incomplete or very light secondary hubbing at a slight offset. Trail dies represent a specialized subset of hub doubling varieties where the secondary impression is so light that it produces only faint trails or shadows rather than the full secondary image seen on standard doubled dies. Die markers for Stage B include small die scratches in Lincoln's chin area on the obverse at Mid Die State and no noted reverse markers at MDS, and the Trail Dies attribution service catalogs this variety within the Lincoln Memorial Cents 1959-2008 series. The 2007-P Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck during the penultimate year of Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse design, which would be replaced by four bicentennial reverses in 2009 and then the Union Shield design from 2010 onward. Philadelphia produced approximately 3.76 billion cents in 2007, one of the largest single-year productions for any denomination, and the massive die consumption required for such volume increased the probability of hubbing anomalies that produce trail die varieties. Trail dies were formally recognized as a distinct variety class relatively recently in the history of die variety collecting, and their subtle nature means that many specimens likely circulate unrecognized. Collectors should examine the area around LIBERTY and the date for the characteristic faint displaced traces that identify trail die varieties.

Die Markers

• Stage “B”, Obverse is MDS – small die scratches in chin area.
• Reverse is MDS – none noted.

External References