The coin obverse has several design features that are important to understand.

• The highest surface element is Lee's gloved left hand and left leg.  These will show wear first, but can also be flattened from a less than complete strike.
• Lee is also wearing a long coat that covers a portion of what is often considered the leg (shown with stripes in the image above).
• When the coin is fully struck there are diagonal folds in the coat that will show and will traverse nearly the whole coat from about eleven o'clock toward four o'clock.  But wear will also cause these to deteriorate quickly.
• Lee's stirrup is a high point just below the leg and begins to flatten with wear.
• The bridle is not at a high point near Traveler's head, but where it crosses Lee's holster it is nearly as high as the leg.  It is also a somewhat fragile element and tends to be flatten easily with wear or a less than complete strike.
• Lee's holster starts to show wear just after the bridle and glove.
• Lee's hat brim is a high point, but it traverses all the way to the field.  So it will show wear early, but almost never disappear even at the lowest grades.
• The thirteen stars are almost always visible, even in circulated grades.
• In addition to the date doubling on the double die variety, Little Sorrel's head will often be doubled as a thin line on the front of the face.