SKH-10c-2005P-02 Spiked Head

Description

Marking the second die clash variety on the 2005 Philadelphia Mint Roosevelt Dime, SKH-10c-2005P-02 was documented by Cuds on Coins on May 13, 2024 — a notably recent cataloging date that illustrates how die variety research on Roosevelt Dimes continues to yield new discoveries even on dates nearly two decades old. The spiked head forms when the torch reverse contacts the obverse die during a planchet feed failure, transferring design elements that produce a raised projection from Roosevelt's portrait. The 2005-P dime was struck at a time when Philadelphia produced substantial quantities of clad coinage alongside the demanding State Quarters program, which consumed significant die production capacity. Roosevelt Dime spiked heads differ from their Lincoln Cent counterparts in several respects: the smaller planchet and different die geometry create distinct clash angles, the torch reverse produces different transfer patterns than the Union Shield or wheat ears reverses, and the collector base actively searching for dime spiked heads is considerably smaller than the cent variety community. Two documented spiked heads for 2005-P is consistent with the typical count for Roosevelt Dime dates, where single-digit catalogs are the norm rather than the multi-dozen counts seen on popular Shield Cent years. This variety adds to the growing body of evidence that die clashes occur across all denominations with predictable regularity proportional to production volume.

Attribution History

• Discovered by David Bennett
• Cross reference: none. 05/13/2024.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References