1996P-1DER-038T Trail Die Reverse

Description

The 1996P-1DER-038T is a late-die-state trail die reverse variety of the 1996 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent. Trail dies occur when a working die is used well past its intended service life, with design elements beginning to deteriorate or trail, producing incomplete images. The reverse die is documented at Stage C, late die state: a die gouge sits to the left of the M in AMERICA; a smaller die gouge appears on the left side of the I in AMERICA; a retained die break bridges the U and N of UNUM; a die chip marks the upper left of the third memorial column. The obverse is also at late die state with no noteworthy obverse markers. The Lincoln Memorial reverse, designed by Frank Gasparro and introduced in 1959, depicts the Lincoln Memorial building — the only United States coin to carry the same historical figure on both sides, with a tiny Lincoln statue visible inside the memorial. Trail die varieties from this series form a distinct collecting specialty within Lincoln cent numismatics, with the TrailDies system providing systematic attribution.

Die Markers

• Stage “C”, obverse is LDS – none noted.
• Reverse is LDS – a die gouge is seen to the left of the M in AMERICA. Another small die gouge is seen on the left side of the I in AMERICA. There is a retained die break between the U and N of UNUM. There e is a die chip on the left upper part of column 3.

External References