1972 LINCOLN DIE 3 DOUBLE DIE Obverse

[carlb]

[eagames]

For each type (type=each different die that was doubled like there's 10 main known doubled dies for 72) there will be 3 main die states. EDS early die state when it was new then MDS medium die state then LDS late die state when it was old.

Then there are stages noted with letters A, B, C etc.....

When you have EDS it would be stage A then in the MDS and EDS as the die wears new markers cracks and other markers appear. Each time the markers change or new ones appear the stage letter increments. As the die shows general wear from use the state increments. State and stage are 2 different things because markers can change fast without changing the state.

Some varieties have less stages because less markers formed. Some varieties are not known in later states like LDS. The reason can be the die broke during an earlier stage and got retired early or they noticed it was a DDO and retired the die early.

Most collectors only collect by die type, some like the EDS best because the details are sharper. Some folks want every state EDS-MDS-LDS and every stage of each state. That realy helps when the stages are documented well. For example they might list a marker in a certain stage but if your coin is earlier it might not have that marker so if you get all the info you might find that the marker only came in a later stage and look for a marker present on the stage that matches your coin.

[eagames]

Carl,

Here's a good one for learning.
The coin in this post was a 72-P DDO die-3 FS-033.53.

Check out the coneca listing for it...
They list it in the known states EMDS to LDS and stages A to G.

Note I assume that they won't list what they don't see so the first listing is stage A but its obverse was already EMDS (early mid die state not EDS) but reverse was EDS and it's obverse stayed EMDS state until stage C where it became MDS. At stage E it got coupled with a new reverse die. It probably ended it's life in stage G which had die clash on the obv. Great one for learning about states and stages, it's like a diary of that variety from being a youngster until it retired.

Maybe somebody else can explain why they didn't use stage A for the EDS obverse... seems logical to me and that is how most others are listed when they say "stage A unconfirmed EDS" which I think means they never saw one but knew it started out there

Too bad they don't list photos!!!!!!!!
See the listing for it:

http://conecaonline.org/content/lincolndoubleddies19701979.html#_1972