2008P-1DEO-002T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Documented by Trail Dies and discovered by Louis Schaeffer, the 2008P-1DEO-002T is a trail die obverse variety on the 2008-P Lincoln Memorial Cent — notably one of the final Memorial Cent issues before the 2009 Bicentennial redesign. Moderate trail lines extend from the top of the digits in the date, while faint trail lines emerge from the top right corners of the letters IBERTY in LIBERTY. The offset direction is recorded at 010 degrees, indicating the trail impression displaced very slightly east of true north. Die markers document Stage A (early die state): the obverse shows a die crack from Lincoln's brow to his hairline with an emerging die crack forming from the hairline toward the first T of TRUST — documenting the initial development of a crack network that likely expanded in subsequent die states. The reverse in EDS shows no noted markers. The trail line mechanism differs from standard hub doubling in that the faint impressions result from physical contact between die components during manufacturing rather than from misaligned hub impressions during die sinking. The precise 010-degree offset direction is a level of angular measurement documentation characteristic of the Trail Dies cataloging system, providing collectors with quantitative diagnostic data. The 2008-P Lincoln Memorial Cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in copper-plated zinc at 2.5 grams and 19 mm diameter. The crack from brow to hairline on EDS specimens provides a reliable die identification marker independent of the trail lines themselves.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Louis Schaeffer
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References