LDB4-2007-002 BIE Die Break

Description

Cross-referenced with Hardy Index 4SCL and cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this second BIE die break at Hardy position 4 for the 2007 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent records a vertical die crack between the B and E of LIBERTY during the penultimate year of the Memorial reverse design. BIE die breaks form when stress fractures develop vertically in the die between these specific letters, and the resulting crack fills with metal during striking to produce the characteristic raised bar on finished coins. The Hardy position 4 placement and the SCL sub-designation provide precise positioning data within the LIBERTY inscription, distinguishing this fracture from any other BIE break documented for the date. The 2007-P cent was produced in the waning years of Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse, which had been in continuous service since 1959 and would be replaced by four bicentennial designs in 2009. By this forty-eighth year of the Memorial design, die production and coining operations for this familiar reverse were thoroughly optimized, yet stress fractures in the LIBERTY area continued to occur as an inherent characteristic of die steel subjected to millions of striking impacts. Two BIE breaks at Hardy position 4 for the 2007-P represents a modest count consistent with the date's production profile. The SCL Hardy sub-position — a specific code within the position 4 classification — places the crack at a particular location that die break specialists use to distinguish between BIE varieties that might otherwise appear similar to the unaided eye. Lincoln Cent BIE collecting spans the entire series from 1909 to present, and late Memorial Cent dates like 2007 contribute the final data points for this reverse type's BIE documentation.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Earl M
• Cross reference: Hardy Index 4SCL. 09/29/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References