SKH-1c-2004-02 Spiked Head

Description

Only two spiked heads have been cataloged for the 2004 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent, and this second entry, documented by Cuds on Coins on August 5, 2019, completes the current known inventory. The modest tally of two varieties for the 2004-P stands in sharp contrast to the dozens documented for peak dates like 1995-P and 1999-P, illustrating the wide variation in spiked head counts across the Memorial Cent series. Several factors may explain the 2004-P's lower count: the date may have received relatively little focused searching from variety hunters, or production conditions at the Philadelphia Mint in 2004 may have produced fewer die clash events. The 2004-P cent was struck in the billions using the same Lincoln Memorial reverse design that had been in continuous use since 1959, and the die clash mechanism — press cycling without a planchet, obverse and reverse dies contacting each other, Memorial design elements transferring into the obverse die — operated identically to all other Memorial Cent dates. The resulting spike on Lincoln's portrait from this clash event carries diagnostic features distinct from the -01 entry, confirming two separate die pairs were involved. With the Memorial reverse approaching its final years of production — the design would be retired after 2008 — the 2004-P occupies the late-middle chapter of the Memorial Cent spiked head story. Collectors who have completed the heavily documented 1990s dates may find that modestly cataloged years like 2004-P offer opportunities for new discoveries that could expand the existing two-entry sequence.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Amy Antone
• Cross reference: none. 08/05/2019.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References