2012 (P) Lincoln Shield Cent - P-1DEO-012T Trail Die Obverse

Description

2012P-1DEO-012T has two sets of trails: up from the tops of LIBERTY at 350°, just west of north, and down from the bottoms of the date's digits at 210°, south-southwest. TrailDies notes that a lone line from LIBERTY's Y, on its left arm, probably comes from the master die. Year and mint come first in the number (2012P), then the cent (1), the side and feature (DEO, an obverse design extension), the file (012) and the type (T, trails). Joe Koelling found the middle-state coin (stage B), which shows no markers; Jacob Hines found a later one (stage C), on which a crack joins the crown of Lincoln's head to the W of WE. Trails are commonly attributed to polishing of the die with a rotary buff; some attribute them to the die moving against the hub.

Die Markers

• Stage “B“, obverse is MDS – none noted.Reverse is MDS – none noted.                           Stage “C”, obverse is LDS – a die crack has developed from the top of Lincoln’s head to the W in the word WE.Reverse is LDS – none noted.

External References