SKH-1c-2016-02 Spiked Head

Description

Second spiked head documented for the 2016 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Shield Cent, following quickly after the inaugural entry to establish that die clash events were generating these varieties early in the year's production. A spiked head on a Shield Cent results from a specific sequence: the coining press cycles, a planchet fails to feed, the obverse and reverse dies contact each other, and the Union Shield's bold relief transfers into the obverse die. The next planchets struck from that die display a raised spike or horn projecting from Lincoln's head — a diagnostic clash impression unique to the specific alignment and force of the die-to-die contact event. Two spiked heads found early in the examination of 2016-P cents indicated that many more would likely follow as additional coins were searched, and subsequent entries proved this expectation correct. The 2016 cent was the seventh year of Shield Cent production, well into the design's tenure, and the die variety community had established reliable search methodologies for locating these varieties. SKH-1c-2016-02 is cataloged by Cuds on Coins. The early discovery of multiple spiked heads for any new date signals to researchers that the date merits systematic searching — a signal that the 2016-P delivered on with a substantial final tally.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Sean O’Connell
• Cross reference: none. 12/21/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References