SKH-1c-1969D-04 Spiked Head

Description

Cataloged on December 9, 2017, SKH-1c-1969D-04 marks the fourth spiked head variety identified on the 1969-D Lincoln Memorial cent. This discovery date coincides with SKH-1c-1969D-05, suggesting both were either found by the same searcher or reported during the same cataloging session at Cuds on Coins. When multiple spiked heads share a discovery date, it often indicates a focused roll-searching effort where a collector examined a significant quantity of 1969-D cents and identified multiple affected dies simultaneously. The die gouge mechanism responsible for spiked heads is independent of other die failure modes — a die can develop a spiked head early in its service life and continue producing coins with the spike for its entire remaining run, or the spike can appear as part of later-stage deterioration alongside unrelated cracks and wear. For the 1969-D cent specifically, the Denver Mint's high-volume production environment increased the statistical probability of foreign-object die damage simply because more dies were manufactured, installed, and operated at speed during any given production year. No cross-references exist to other cataloging systems for this variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference: none. 12/09/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References