SKH-1c-1991-11 Spiked Head

Description

Exhibiting a more advanced state of die deterioration than its predecessor SKH-10, SKH-1c-1991-11 of the 1991 Lincoln Memorial cent — reported on August 12, 2019 — features multiple reverse die cracks rather than a single crack. The plural nature of the reverse cracking indicates that the reverse die paired with this spiked head obverse had progressed further along the failure continuum, with stress fractures having propagated along multiple paths through the die steel. Multiple die cracks on a single die face typically signal that the die is approaching catastrophic failure: as one crack relieves stress in its immediate vicinity, new stress concentrations develop at other geometric weak points, spawning additional cracks that collectively undermine the die's structural integrity. The contrast between SKH-10 (single reverse crack) and SKH-11 (multiple reverse cracks) illustrates how die deterioration is not uniform across the production run — different die pairs reach different stages of failure depending on when each die was installed, how many strikes it absorbed, and the specific stress conditions it experienced. The obverse spiked head combined with multiple reverse cracks makes this a notably deteriorated die pair. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, weighing 2.5 grams and measuring 19mm.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Durney
• Cross reference: none. 08/12/2019.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References