SKH-10c-1943D-02 Spiked Head

Description

The second spiked head documented for the 1943-D Mercury Dime, the SKH-10c-1943D-02 provides a companion die failure to the SKH-10c-1943D-01 from a different working die that experienced similar deterioration at Liberty's cap apex. Two spiked heads from the same date and mint represent independent instances of the same failure mechanism on separate dies — confirming that the die cavity stress concentration at the cap's highest point is a consistent and reproducible vulnerability rather than a random occurrence. The 1943-D Mercury Dime was struck at the Denver Mint in 90% silver composition during the peak of wartime coinage demand, and the silver dime remained unchanged in composition throughout World War II even as the cent and nickel underwent dramatic wartime alloy substitutions. Attributed by Cuds on Coins with a catalog date of March 2018, three months after the 01 variety was documented, this second spiked head was likely found by a different collector or during continued examination of the 1943-D population stimulated by the first discovery. The paired 1943-D spiked heads offer collectors interested in die failure mechanics the opportunity to compare how two independent dies developed the same type of deterioration under similar production conditions at the same mint facility.

Attribution History

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

External References