1994D-1DER-021WS Trail Die Reverse

Description

Discovered by Aisha Shahid and documented by Trail Dies, the 1994D-1DER-021WS is a wavy-step trail die reverse on the 1994 Denver Lincoln Memorial cent exhibiting light trail lines in the form of wavy steps under columns 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, with an offset direction of 180 degrees. The asymmetric die state pairing is notable: the obverse is at a late die state while the reverse is at an early die state, indicating that the original obverse die was likely replaced with a fresher die during production, pairing a worn obverse with a newer reverse. At Stage A on the obverse (late die state), small die gouges are visible under Lincoln's nose, to the left of the mint mark, in the collar of Lincoln's coat, and under the R of LIBERTY. The reverse at early die state shows no noted markers. The concentration of trail lines under columns 4 through 8 — spanning the central portion of the Memorial colonnade — places the wavy-step effect in the most architecturally detailed zone of the building, where even subtle distortions are readily apparent.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Aisha Shahid
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References