2012P-1DEO-011T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Trail die varieties represent a distinctive class of minting anomaly where ghost-like traces from a previous hub impression transfer onto a working die, producing faint remnants visible on every coin struck from that die. This 2012-P Lincoln Shield Cent, cataloged as 1DEO-011T, documents a trail die on the obverse — the side featuring Lincoln's portrait and the Shield Cent design introduced in 2010. Trail dies provide valuable evidence about hub usage sequences and die manufacturing procedures at the Mint, as the residual impressions reveal which hub preceded the final one in the die's production history. Die stage documentation at Stage B places the obverse in mid-die state with no significant markers noted, while the reverse is also in mid-die state. The Shield Cent design, featuring a Union shield on the reverse, replaced the Lincoln Memorial reverse that had served since 1959. Cataloged by Trail Dies, this Philadelphia Mint copper-plated zinc cent represents one of multiple trail die varieties documented for the Shield Cent series, where the interplay between hub impressions during die production occasionally left these telltale ghost images on working dies.

Die Markers

• Stage “B“, obverse is MDS – none noted.Reverse is MDS – the reverse die is

External References