2014P-1DER-006T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Joe Koelling discovered this trail die reverse on a 2014 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Shield Cent, the sixth trail die reverse cataloged for the 2014-P date. A trail die forms when the press cycles without a planchet between the dies, causing one die to strike the other and transfer a mirror-image impression onto the opposing die face. Coins subsequently struck from the affected die show a ghostly reversed impression of the opposite design overlaid on the normal strike. Die stage B is documented, with the obverse at mid-die state showing no additional markers noted, and the reverse at mid-die state exhibiting a die crack above the apex of the Union Shield and a smaller die crack from the left upper corner of the shield. These paired cracks suggest progressive die fatigue alongside the trail die impression. The 2014 Lincoln Shield Cent continues the copper-plated zinc composition introduced in 1982 and the Union Shield reverse by Lyndall Bass adopted in 2010. Trail dies on Shield Cents are a distinct specialty, and six cataloged trail die reverses for a single date reflect the systematic documentation efforts of specialists examining high-volume modern issues.

Die Markers

• Stage “B“, obverse is MDS – none noted
• Reverse is MDS – a die crack is seen in the field above the apex of the shield. Another smaller die crack is seen from the left, upper corner of the shield

Attribution History

• Discovered by Joe Koelling
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References