2008P-1DEO-012T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Discovered by Jason Dick and cataloged by Trail Dies, the 2008P-1DEO-012T is a trail die obverse variety found on the Philadelphia-minted Lincoln Memorial Cent. Trail die errors arise when the obverse and reverse dies come together without a planchet between them, transferring a partial impression of one die's design onto the opposing die's working surface. Coins subsequently struck by the affected die pair carry a ghost image of the transferred design. The Lincoln Memorial Cent was produced in copper-plated zinc at 2.50 grams and 19.05 mm diameter, featuring Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait and Frank Gasparro's Memorial reverse. This was the final year of the Memorial reverse before the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial designs. Die markers document Stage A conditions: the obverse at Early Die State shows a light die crack from Lincoln's brow up to his hairline, while the reverse at EDS displays light die scratches in and around the E PLURIBUS UNUM (EPU) inscription above the Memorial. The Early Die State designation indicates this die pair was relatively new when the trail die characteristics were observed, suggesting the die-to-die contact event may have occurred early in the die's service life. The 2008 Philadelphia Cent represents the penultimate year of the 49-year Lincoln Memorial Cent run that began in 1959.

Die Markers

• Stage “A”, obverse is EDS – a light die crack is seen from Lincoln’s brow up to his hair line.
• Reverse is EDS – light die scratches are seen in and around the EPU.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jason Dick
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References