SKH-1c-1950S-04 Spiked Head

Description

San Francisco Mint Wheat Cents are generally scarcer than their Philadelphia or Denver counterparts, and this fourth documented spiked head for the 1950-S Lincoln Wheat Cent adds a die variety dimension to an already lower-mintage issue. The 1950-S had notably smaller production figures than the 1950-D, making die varieties from the S-mint inherently harder to locate. A spiked head forms when foreign matter becomes lodged in the die cavity near Lincoln's portrait, producing a raised spike of metal on the struck coin. SKH-1c-1950S-04 is cataloged by Cuds on Coins and is not listed in the Cohen Index. The San Francisco Mint's smaller output means fewer die pairs were needed, yet four documented spiked heads shows that die fill events occurred at this facility as well. Combined with the Philadelphia proof spike heads and Denver business strike spiked heads, the 1950 date across all three mints presents one of the most thoroughly cataloged spiked head populations in the Lincoln Cent series. Collectors assembling a date-and-mint set of 1950 spiked heads face a genuine challenge with the S-mint examples, as the lower original mintage translates directly to fewer surviving specimens.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference number: Cohen Index Not Listed. 30/27/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References