Understanding Early Die Stage

A die has a certain life, either determined by when they swap it out for maintenance, or it breaks during use. There really isn't any clear dividing line between when a die goes from EDS to LDS, but those minted when the die is fairly new are EDS and those before it was retired are LDS. In some cases, there's a very distinct noticeable defect like a crack or Cud that defines if as LDS, but in many cases, it's just that it's more worn or shows signs of reconditioning.

It's easier to visuize as a scale than a point, just like grading.

At one end are the fresh dies creating nice sharp strikes just like the prototypical design. At the other end are the old, worn out die pairs showing detail loss and maybe features being a little "drawn" towards the rim. Some commonality exists but again, just like grading, individual issues show differing symptoms. Let me look around and see if I can find image examples of what I mean.