2011P(USG)-100DER-003T Trail Die Reverse

Description

Sharing the same Trail Dies catalog number as its Position A counterpart but struck in Position B edge lettering orientation, this 2011 Philadelphia Mint Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Dollar trail die reverse variety was also found by Tanaka Davis. The Position B designation indicates the edge lettering reads upright relative to the reverse face rather than the obverse, a rotational manufacturing variable created during the edge lettering application process. Die marker documentation identifies Stage B at mid-die-state with the same diagnostic features as the Position A pairing: an obverse die crack from the S in USG to the rim, and a reverse die crack from the D of PRESIDENT to the rim. The identical die markers across both Position A and Position B listings confirm these were struck from the same physical die pair, with the edge lettering orientation being the only distinguishing characteristic between the two catalog entries. The Presidential Dollar was struck in manganese-brass clad composition with a copper core, weighing 8.10 grams with a 26.5 mm diameter and smooth edge bearing incuse date, mintmark, and motto lettering. The Ulysses S. Grant issue commemorates the eighteenth President of the United States, who served from 1869 to 1877 after leading the Union Army during the Civil War. The dual die crack system running from lettered design elements to the rim on both faces indicates this die pair had accumulated significant fatigue by mid-production, and the trail die reverse feature — a faint secondary reverse impression offset from the primary — adds a die manufacturing anomaly to the production-phase die deterioration documented by the cracks.

Die Markers

• Stage “B“, obverse is MDS – a small die crack is seen from the S in USG to the rim
• Reverse is MDS – a small die crack is seen from the D of PRESIDENT to the rim.