SKH-1c-1986-03 Spiked Head

Description

Cataloged as the third spiked head for the 1986 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, SKH-1c-1986-03 extends the pattern of portrait-origin die cracks documented for this date. The spiked head phenomenon is particularly well-suited to the Lincoln cent design because Victor David Brenner's portrait places the highest relief of the entire obverse at the crown of Lincoln's head — a design choice that creates the deepest recess in the die, where the die steel is thinnest relative to the coining pressure it must absorb. This thin section acts as the die's weakest structural link, and given the enormous striking volumes at the Philadelphia Mint (4,491,395,493 cents in 1986 alone), even small statistical probabilities of crack initiation at this point translate into multiple observed failures across the die population. Spiked head varieties are popular among error coin collectors who specialize in die cracks and die breaks because they offer visual drama — the spike extending from Lincoln's head creates an immediately recognizable anomaly — within an affordable collecting niche. Common-date spiked heads trade at modest premiums, making them accessible entry points for collectors new to die failure varieties. Struck at Philadelphia (no mint mark) on copper-plated zinc planchets (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) at 2.5 grams and 19mm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Steve Siegfried
• Cross reference: none. 02/27/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References