Would You Use EDS/MDS/LDS Notes on Error Listings?

Proposal: Die State Annotations on Error Listings

We're considering adding Early Die State (EDS), Mid Die State (MDS), and Late Die State (LDS) annotations to error and variety listings. This thread is a community poll to gauge interest and gather feedback on implementation.

What Are Die State Designations?

As a die is used in production, it progressively wears and develops characteristics:

EDS (Early Die State) — The die is fresh. Variety markers are sharp and well-defined. Die cracks may be absent or minimal. This is often the most desirable state for collectors.
MDS (Mid Die State) — Moderate wear. Die cracks may be developing, variety markers are still visible but softening. Flow lines may be appearing.
LDS (Late Die State) — Significant wear. Die cracks are prominent, variety markers may be partially obscured, die polishing or clashing may be evident. Some collectors specifically seek LDS examples for their dramatic die cracks.

How This Could Work on NumisDex

We envision die state as an optional annotation that collectors can add when submitting photos or voting on listings:

Each listing could display known die state examples (EDS, MDS, LDS photos)
Submission forms could include a die state selector
Search filters could include die state as a parameter
Attribution descriptions could note die state progression characteristics

Questions for the Community

Would die state annotations be useful in your collecting or research?
Which series or error types would benefit most from die state tracking?
Should die state be a formal field (structured data) or free-form notes?
Do you have examples of die state documentation that you find particularly useful?

Current Attribution Context

Many attribution references already describe die states in their variety listings. Formalizing this data in NumisDex would make it searchable and standardized across all series — something no existing platform currently offers at scale.

Reply with your thoughts. If there's strong interest, we'll prioritize this for a future release.