SKH-1c-1971D-26 Spiked Head

Description

Cataloged on January 30, 2018 by Cuds on Coins, SKH-1c-1971D-26 on the 1971-D Lincoln Memorial cent records the twenty-sixth distinct obverse die found to have developed a crack at Lincoln's head during Denver's 1971 cent production. Sharing its documentation date with SKH-27, this variety was part of another paired discovery — a pattern that recurs throughout the 1971-D spiked head catalog, where focused examination sessions frequently yield multiple new varieties in a single sitting. The consistency of this paired-discovery pattern speaks to the statistical reality of searching a high-mintage date: with nearly three billion coins produced and a proportionally large number of working dies employed, the probability of encountering multiple spiked head dies in any substantial accumulation of 1971-D cents is quite high. No cross-references to external attribution systems have been documented for SKH-26. Each spiked head's identity resides in the unique geometry of its die crack — the specific point of origin on Lincoln's portrait, the direction in which the crack propagated into the field, and the crack's length and width at various points along its path. These geometric parameters constitute the variety's fingerprint and must be compared against the reference photographs for accurate attribution at this depth in the catalog.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Bob Byrd
• Cross reference: none. 01/30/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References