SKH-1c-2006-04 Spiked Head

Description

Fourth documented spiked head for the 2006 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Memorial Cent, SKH-1c-2006-04 was cataloged on November 29, 2017, by Cuds on Coins. The 2006-P cent occupies an interesting transitional position in Lincoln Cent history — it was among the final issues bearing the Memorial reverse, with only the 2007 and 2008 dates remaining before the 2009 bicentennial reverse designs marked the end of an era. Four spiked heads documented for a late Memorial Cent date falls within the expected range for this design type, which generally produced fewer die clash varieties per year than the Shield Cent that succeeded it. The die clash mechanism is universal: when the coining press cycles without a planchet, the obverse and reverse dies strike each other, and the Memorial reverse's architectural elements transfer into the obverse die to create a raised spike on Lincoln's portrait. The transferred detail from the Memorial building — with its rows of columns and horizontal entablature — tends to produce moderately defined spikes that require careful examination to identify compared to the bolder impressions left by the Shield reverse. Philadelphia's 2006 cent production consumed numerous die pairs across billions of coins, and four documented clash events represents the confirmed minimum for die pairs that experienced this specific failure mode. Collectors pursuing Memorial Cent spiked heads across the full date range find that late-series dates like 2006-P offer a manageable number of varieties while documenting the die clash phenomenon in the design's twilight years.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John Nugent
• Cross reference: none. 11/29/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References