SKH-1c-2023-07 Spiked Head

Description

Seventh spiked head cataloged for the 2023-P Lincoln Shield cent, SKH-1c-2023-07 documents a recent-year die crack variety from one of the latest dates in the ongoing Shield cent production series. The 2023-P cent, produced in the billions as part of Philadelphia's continued high-volume cent operations, carries Victor David Brenner's obverse Lincoln portrait that has served as the design foundation since 1909 alongside Lyle Okerlund's Union Shield reverse introduced in 2010. Seven spiked heads for a recent date indicates that variety hunters have already conducted substantial examination of the 2023-P output, identifying die crack varieties in the portrait area with the systematic approach that has characterized modern variety hunting. The spiked head formation mechanism remains consistent across all Lincoln cent dates: narrow ridges of die steel within the incuse portrait fracture under cyclic striking stress, and planchet metal fills the resulting channels to create thin raised projections on finished coins. Modern cent production at Philadelphia employs high-speed presses that impose rapid-cycle loading on dies, and the copper-plated zinc composition adopted in 1982 flows readily into die cracks, making even fine fractures produce detectable spikes. The 2023-P cent exists in a numismatic context where variety collecting has been transformed by digital microscopy and online reporting — discoveries can be shared, confirmed, and cataloged within days of a coin's release rather than the months or years that earlier generations of collectors required. The Cuds on Coins service maintains the official spiked head census and provides diagnostic images for each cataloged variety. Collectors examining potential 2023-P spiked heads should use 10-15x magnification to identify the raised projection and consult reference images to determine which of the seven documented varieties matches their specimen's spike position and characteristics. No cross-references to other attribution systems are recorded.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mark Geer
• Cross reference: none. 12/12/2024.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References