SKH-25c-1997P-04 Spiked Head

Description

An exceptionally unusual dual-error coin, this 1997 Philadelphia Washington Quarter combines two independent error types on a single specimen: a spiked head die crack and a curved clip planchet. The spiked head, cataloged as SKH-25c-1997P-04, is a die crack extending into or from Washington's portrait on the obverse, creating a raised projection characteristic of this error type. The curved clip is an entirely separate defect — a planchet manufacturing error where the blank was punched from strip metal that overlapped a previously punched hole, producing an incomplete disc with a curved bite missing from its edge. These two errors arise from unrelated stages of the minting process: the curved clip occurred during planchet preparation, while the spiked head originated from a crack in the obverse die during striking. For both defects to appear on the same coin, a clipped planchet had to feed into a press fitted with a cracked die — a coincidence whose improbability makes dual-error coins highly prized by error collectors. The 1997 Philadelphia Quarter was struck in standard copper-nickel clad composition, documenting a rare intersection of planchet and die errors.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jeff Ylitalo
• Cross reference: none. 01/27/2021.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References