2011P-1DEO-003T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Documented in the Trail Dies catalog and discovered by George dePozsgay, the 2011P-1DEO-003T is a trail die obverse variety found on the 2011 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Shield Cent. Trail die obverse varieties display a faint secondary impression of the obverse design offset from the primary image, created when the obverse die receives unintended contact during die manufacturing, press setup, or test-strike procedures. Unlike trail die reverses which affect the denomination and motto side, trail die obverses impact Lincoln's portrait and the obverse inscriptions, and the two types can occur independently or together on the same coin depending on which die face received the anomalous contact. Die marker documentation identifies Stage "B" at mid-die-state (MDS) on both sides: the obverse shows a die crack from the lower right corner of Lincoln's bust extending to the rim — a progressive fracture line in a high-stress area where the bust truncation creates a geometric stress concentration — while the reverse displays a die chip on the left edge of the shield. The die crack on the bust and the die chip on the shield edge document concurrent moderate deterioration across both dies, indicating production during a mid-life phase for this die marriage. The Lincoln Shield Cent was designed by Victor David Brenner for the obverse and Lyndall Bass for the reverse, struck in copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) weighing 2.50 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. George dePozsgay's discovery contributes to the systematic documentation of trail die occurrences maintained by the Trail Dies catalog, which tracks these specialized varieties across all U.S. denominations. The 2011 Philadelphia Mint production, in the second year of the Shield reverse design, generated a die population from which multiple trail die varieties have been documented on both obverse and reverse faces.

Die Markers

• Stage “B “, obverse is MDS – a die crack is seen from the lower right corner of Lincoln’s bust to the rim.
• Reverse is MDS – a die chip is seen on the left edge of the shield.

Attribution History

• Discovered by George dePozsgay
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References