SKH-1C-1971D-01 Spike Head

Description

Opening one of the most extensive spiked head catalogs in the Lincoln Memorial cent series, SKH-1C-1971D-01 documents the first recorded die crack variety emanating from Lincoln's head on a 1971-D cent. A spiked head forms when a die crack develops at or near the top of Lincoln's portrait and extends outward into the field, producing a spike-like protrusion of raised metal on struck coins that appears to project from the president's head. The mechanism is straightforward: as the crack opens in the die steel, it creates a narrow channel that fills with planchet metal during striking, forming a thin raised line on the coin's surface. On the 1971-D date, this die crack phenomenon proved remarkably prolific — twenty-one or more distinct spiked head varieties have been cataloged, making it one of the highest concentrations of this variety type for any single date and mintmark in the Memorial cent series. The concentration likely reflects the enormous production volume at Denver in 1971, where approximately 2.91 billion cents were struck, subjecting working dies to cumulative stress that promoted crack formation in the high-relief area around Lincoln's head. SKH-1C-1971D-01 establishes the beginning of this extensive catalog. Attributed by Cuds on Coins, spiked heads occupy a distinctive niche in Lincoln cent collecting — they are visually dramatic enough to be spotted without magnification on well-struck examples, yet sufficiently varied in their specific crack geometry to sustain a specialized collecting pursuit within a single date.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Louis A
• SKH-1C-1971D-01
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References