SKH-1c-2018-07 Spiked Head

Description

Seventh spiked head documented for the 2018-P Lincoln Shield cent, SKH-1c-2018-07 catalogs a die crack variety from Philadelphia's cent production during the ninth year of the Union Shield reverse design. The spiked head phenomenon occurs when a crack develops in the working die's incuse portrait area — the channel carved into the die steel that forms Lincoln's profile. Die steel surrounding the portrait's fine details, particularly the hair rendering and facial features designed by Victor David Brenner over a century ago, consists of narrow ridges that are mechanically vulnerable to fatigue cracking under the repetitive impact of high-speed coining press operations. When a crack opens, planchet metal fills the resulting gap during each strike, creating a thin raised projection — the spike — visible on finished coins extending outward from some portion of Lincoln's head. Philadelphia struck approximately 4.22 billion cents in 2018, an enormous production volume that consumed working dies at a prodigious rate and generated numerous die deterioration varieties. The seven documented spiked heads for this date reflect both the volume of dies used and the attentiveness of variety collectors who systematically search through rolls and bags of freshly minted coins. Each spiked head is positionally unique because the crack that creates it forms at a different location on each working die, meaning SKH-1c-2018-07 can be distinguished from the other six documented 2018-P spiked heads by the spike's precise position on Lincoln's profile, its angle of projection, and its approximate length. Lyle Okerlund's Union Shield reverse, featuring the bold shield design with horizontal and vertical lines, completes the coin's design. Cataloged by the Cuds on Coins service, collectors should use 10-15x magnification to identify the thin metallic projection and compare its position against published diagnostic photographs for attribution to this specific SKH number.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Philip Knoll
• Cross reference: none. 01/08/2024.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References