1985P-1DEO-001T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Discovered by Louis Schaeffer, the 1985P-1DEO-001T is a trail die obverse variety on the 1985 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent recorded at Stage B. Trail die varieties form during hubbing when design elements leave faint linear drag marks as the hub separates from the working die, creating subtle directional traces near affected features. The obverse is in mid-die state (MDS) with a small die dot between and above the B and E of LIBERTY serving as the primary attribution marker. The reverse, also MDS, carries more substantial diagnostics: a die break on the bottom of the R in AMERICA and a die crack from the right side baseline to the rim. The rim-reaching crack indicates structural fatigue that would eventually lead to the die's retirement. Schaeffer's discovery adds to the documented trail die population for 1985 Philadelphia, which also includes obverse variety 002T and the less common trail die reverse 1DER-001T. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets at 2.5 grams and 19mm from the 1985 mintage of approximately 5.65 billion cents.

Die Markers

• Stage “B”, obverse is MDS – small die dot between and above the B and E of LIBERTY.
• Reverse is MDS – die break on the bottom of the foot of the R in AMERICA. A die crack is seen from the right side base line to the rim.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Louis Schaeffer
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References