2012P(SAC)-100DEO-002T Trail Die Obverse

Description

Also discovered by Jean Lee, this Position A counterpart to the trail die obverse on the 2012 Philadelphia Native American Dollar demonstrates that the same phenomenon affected coins struck in both die orientations. Position A places the obverse die on the anvil (lower die) in the coining press, producing a different edge lettering alignment than Position B — a distinction that matters because dollar coins carry incused edge inscriptions whose orientation rotates depending on position. Trail die evidence on both positions suggests either that multiple obverse dies carried ghost impressions, or that a single affected die was used in different press configurations. Trail dies are identified by faint design elements from a previously struck coin type appearing as shallow, ghostly traces — remnants embedded in the die face from prior service. The 2012 Native American Dollar honored 17th-century trade routes between Native peoples and European colonists, with Thomas Cleveland's reverse depicting a horse and rider. Jean Lee's documentation across both die positions provides a more complete picture of how trail die contamination propagated through 2012 dollar production at Philadelphia.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jean Lee
• Expert attribution by Trail Dies

External References