SKH-1c-1986-01 Spiked Head

Description

The first documented spiked head variety for the 1986 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, SKH-1c-1986-01 exhibits a die crack that extends from Lincoln's head upward toward the rim, creating a raised spike-like protrusion on struck coins. Spiked heads are a specialized subset of die cracks where the fracture originates at the highest point of the portrait design — the top of Lincoln's head — and propagates outward into the field. This location is a natural stress concentration point: the abrupt transition from the deeply recessed portrait to the flat field creates a sharp geometric discontinuity in the die steel that focuses cyclic stress during repeated striking. As the crack opens, planchet metal fills it during each subsequent strike, producing the characteristic thin raised line that gives the variety its descriptive name. The visual effect ranges from a subtle hair-thin line barely visible without magnification to a pronounced spike that can extend several millimeters across the field. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins under the SKH designation, spiked heads bridge the gap between die cracks and cuds in the die failure progression. Struck at Philadelphia (no mint mark) on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm, from the 1986 mintage of 4,491,395,493 cents.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chris Channel
• Cross reference: none. 05/02/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References