TRAIL DIE ODDITIES

Trail & Wavy Step Variety Dies

TRAIL DIE ODDITIES

While each day brings us new information to add to the knoweldge that we have concerning trail dies, there are still some mysteries that have not been solved in regards to these anomalies. This particular page is set aside for those oddities.

WHAT HAPPENED MR. LINCOLN? - While the statue of Abraham Lincon on the reverse has had many distortions due to trails being present, this is perhaps one of the oddest. It has yet to be determined if the extra length of Lincoln's head is part of the design extension, however, the other distortions seen (extra thickness in the legs, knees and the supposed tie) are part of this type anomaly. Also seen is a line from Lincoln's mouth (dubbed a cigar) that adds to the clownish appearance of the statue. This is truely a unique oddity and was found by Bob Piazza of Florida.

Another unusual statue of Lincoln has been found, this time by Joe Koelling. Similar to the above die pictured, this one has a different direction. While both of these anomalies came from dies that had trail, there is still no firm bases for identifying these lines as trail related. This was found on 1994P-1DER-065WST

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ARE ALL TRAIL LINES STRAIGHT? - Not really. Take a look at the above picture and you can see that there are two small bows in this trail line. If you refer to the 1999P-1DER-015WST will see that the step deviation appears to curve as the trails pass through the steps. Just another oddity of trail dies.

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PHOTO BY KEN POTTER

Every once in a while, we see a die that looks like it has trials and this is just one case where trails seem to be coming from the top of the letters, but are they really trails?

This coin comes from Ken Potter's files and is a 1945D Philippines, 10 Centavo piece that was minted in Denver. A quick look at this coin can be deceiving for the notching on the lower part of UNITED and the extra thickness seem to indicate that it is a nice doubled die.

Then there are the lines that come from the tops of UNITED STATES, another good indicator that this could be a trail die. And why not? We have seen trails and a doubled die on the same die before.

If we were to sit down and analyze carefully what we are seeing, the first thing that would seem odd is that the lines are radial on top of the letters. While there are dies that have two directions of trail lines, that is the maximum encountered. So, this is not a trail die since the lines are all in a different direction.

What would cause lines such as these if they are not trails? The answer is fairly simple, metal flows that has caused erosion of the die face or in other words, die deterioration. What about the notching? The notching is from a doubled die and is an exception since it show so clearly in this die state. Normally, in later die states, notching formed by a doubled die becomes less distinct and tends to become mushy or ill defined. .

I want to thank Ken Potter for showing us this very interesting die. While this is an exceptional case of metal flow lines on a die deteriorated coin, it is a great example of that affect. This is listed in his files as; VCR#2/DDR#2. This coin was submitted by Ken Seymore.

PHOTO BY KEN POTTER

This is another die brought to us by Ken Potter that has some of the indications of trails. This die exhibits ramped extra thickness that appears to be doubling. There are also small striated lines above some of the numerals, which is most appearent over the six digit.

Once again, looks can be decieving. The effect seen here can best be described as an early form of die deterioration. As Ken Potter explained, the dies that struck this coin were chrome plated and for some reason that plating has deteriorated unevenly and prematurely. With the plating removed, the metal flow from the strike filled in the hollow spots (left by the absence of the chrome) on the die causing it to look like doubling or a doubled die or a trail die.

The one give away for this affect is the uneven and incomplete doubling seen. If you look at the 9 digit, you will see no doubling on the lower half. The six digit has overall doubling, however, the top curve is much thicker that the other extra thickness seen. The two digit has only a portion (on the left side) doubled and again the extra thickness is not proportional throughout. The small striated lines are part of the chrome plating deterioration.

This is another very interesting coin and I do want to thank Ken Potter for the photos and for the information giving concerning this die.

1999P-1DER-010T

THIS IS THE SPLITS! - One of the mysteries of trails is this odd occurance. As you can see in the picture, some of the columns appear to have splits near their tops. What is even odder is the fact that it is every other one. This is not the only case where this has been encountered and there are actually four dies, from various years, that have these split columns. There is even one case of a split Memorial building base line and a split Memorial floor line. Even though it has been surmised that this is part of the design extension anomaly, the reason behind how it happens is a mystery.

1994P-1DER-051T

Similar to the split column, this is a split Memorial building floor. This seems to have the same direction of the trail lines from the corners of the stylobate..

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ESMERALDA, WHERE ARE YOU? - This mishapen Lincoln comes from die 1999P-1DER-033T. The offset direction has distorted the staue in such a way that it resembles Quasimodo from the "Hunchback of Notre Dame".

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1975 LINCOLN MEMORIAL CENT

At first glance, this Lincoln cent appears to have very strong trail lines from LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and the date.

While it is not unknown to have curved trail lines, most are straight or have just a small amount of curving to them. The lines, especially on the date are very much curved. Also notice that the apparent lines above the date are incused (raised on the die), something that will only happen on a working hub with trails.

The overall mushy appearance of the obverse, when compared to the reverse, gives us the final clue as to what has happened to this particular coin. This is a Lincoln cent that has been struck through a late die cap that has some movement to it when it struck the coin. The folds and creases in the die cap give the coin the look of having trails.

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"APOLLO 4", Fortieth Anniversary Medal

Trails are seen on the NASA side of this medal. The stars, N and A of NASA and "This medallion ---- flown" show trail lines that are in an offset direction of 300° from the horizontal plane of the acrynom NASA. This trail die anomaly was discovered by Ted Kruelski of Virgina.