SKH-1c-2018-06 Spiked Head

Description

Sixth spiked head documented for the 2018 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Shield Cent, this variety extends the die clash record for a date positioned in the middle of the Shield Cent era. By 2018, the Union Shield reverse had been in production for nine years, and the die variety community had refined its techniques for locating and documenting spiked heads to a high degree of efficiency. A spiked head forms when a planchet feed failure allows the obverse and reverse dies to contact each other, and the strong relief of the Shield reverse transfers into the obverse die cavity, producing a raised spike on Lincoln's head. Six spiked heads indicates that multiple die pairs experienced clash events during 2018-P production — not surprising given that Philadelphia manufactures billions of cents annually using hundreds of die pairs across continuous press runs. The 2018-P cent is part of the copper-plated zinc composition that has been standard since 1982, and the interaction between zinc planchets and hardened die steel occurs at extremely high speeds. SKH-1c-2018-06 is cataloged by Cuds on Coins. Collectors appreciate that spiked head varieties on recent Shield Cents remain findable at face value, making them among the most accessible die varieties for new hobbyists entering the field.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Erik Gilchrist
• Cross reference: none. 04/12/2022.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References