1996P-1DER-040T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Documented in the Trail Dies catalog and discovered by Tanaka Davis, the 1996P-1DER-040T is a trail die reverse variety found on a 1996 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent. Trail dies represent a specialized category of die variety where a faint secondary impression of the coin's design appears offset from the primary design, typically caused during the die manufacturing sequence when an unintended contact occurs between the die and another element of the hubbing or annealing process. The die state documentation identifies this specimen as Stage D with the obverse in very late die state (VLDS), showing a small die gouge near the leg of the G in GOD, while the reverse is also in VLDS with small die gouges visible under the R and C of AMERICA and around the T of CENT — a constellation of late-die-state deterioration markers that place this coin near the very end of this die pair's productive service life. The Lincoln Memorial Cent reverse, designed by Frank Gasparro and introduced in 1959, depicts the Lincoln Memorial with its twelve columns and the seated statue of Abraham Lincoln visible between the central columns. Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait has appeared continuously since 1909. By 1996, the cent was struck in copper-plated zinc composition (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.50 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. The Trail Dies reference catalog systematically documents these varieties across all denominations and dates, providing the numismatic community with a structured classification system for a variety type that was historically undercataloged compared to more widely known categories like doubled dies and repunched mintmarks.

Die Markers

• Stage “D“, obverse is VLDS – a small die gouge is seen by the leg of the G in GOD
• Reverse is VLDS – small die gouges are seen under the R and C of AMERICA and around the T of CENT.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Tanaka Davis
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References