SKH-10c-1942-01 Spiked Head

Description

Documented by Cuds on Coins as of March 29, 2018, SKH-10c-1942-01 represents a spiked head die variety on the 1942 Philadelphia Mercury dime, appearing at a pivotal moment in the series when wartime production was escalating dramatically. The Philadelphia Mint produced over 205 million dimes in 1942 — one of the highest mintages in the entire Mercury dime series — as the nation mobilized its economy for World War II and the demand for circulating coinage surged. Despite the enormous output, this remains the sole spike head variety cataloged for the 1942-P dime, a statistic that may reflect either the robustness of die preparation during this high-volume year or incomplete census coverage from variety researchers. Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head design, first introduced in 1916 as part of a sweeping redesign of American silver coinage, presents a left-facing portrait of Liberty wearing a cap with wings — an artistic motif drawn from classical imagery that proved both aesthetically celebrated and mechanically challenging for Mint engravers. The spike head develops when a die crack forms near the crown of Liberty's head, typically radiating from the highest-relief area where the wing meets the cap. Under the immense pressure of the striking process, planchet metal is extruded into the crack, producing a raised spike or horn-like projection. This variety predates the composition change to silver-free planchets that the Mint would implement for nickels in 1942 but not for dimes, which retained their 90% silver content through 1964. Examination under 8-12x magnification should reveal the spike's characteristic sharp projection emerging from the head area, with consistent metallic luster confirming it as a die-origin feature rather than post-strike damage.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Reza Buan
• Cross reference: none. 03/29/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References