SKH-1c-1986-05 Spiked Head

Description

Among the fifteen documented spiked head varieties for the 1986 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, SKH-1c-1986-05 occupies a middle position in the census that underscores the frequency of die cracking at Lincoln's portrait crown for this date. The mechanics behind spiked heads trace directly to die construction: when a master hub impresses the portrait into a working die, the crown of Lincoln's head becomes the deepest recess in the die face, where the thinnest cross-section of steel must absorb the full force of each strike. Over millions of impressions, cyclic fatigue nucleates microcracks at this stress concentration point. Once a crack initiates, it propagates outward through the die face toward the rim, opening a channel that planchet metal fills during subsequent strikes. The filled crack appears on the finished coin as a raised spike projecting from the top of Lincoln's head — an instantly recognizable anomaly that gives the variety class its name. Identifying SKH-05 requires careful comparison of the spike's angle, length, and trajectory against reference images, since each spiked head represents a unique die with its own crack geometry. 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 John Nugent
• Cross reference: none. 04/19/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References