SKH-1c-1993-38 Spiked Head

Description

A spiked head rarely develops in isolation on a die that is otherwise pristine — more commonly, it appears alongside other die anomalies that reflect the same underlying pattern of surface fatigue. SKH-1c-1993-38, the thirty-eighth cataloged spiked head on the 1993 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent from Cuds on Coins, belongs to a class of varieties where the spike may coexist with clash marks, die cracks in other areas of the obverse, or general loss of fine design detail. Die clashes — impressions transferred from the opposing die when two dies strike each other without a planchet between them — can leave ghostly traces of the reverse Memorial design on the obverse near Lincoln's portrait. When a clashed die subsequently develops a spike, the struck coin carries evidence of two distinct failure events on the same die face. Similarly, an obverse die crack running through LIBERTY or IN GOD WE TRUST might share the same die that produced the cataloged spike. These compound die states enrich the variety's diagnostic profile and provide additional markers for confident attribution beyond the spike feature alone.

Attribution History

• Discovered by William (Bill) W
• Cross reference: none. 07/07/2024.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References