1910 Lincoln Wheat Cent - SKH-1c-1910-01 Spiked Head

Description

Establishing the sole documented spiked head entry for the 1910 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, SKH-1c-1910-01 records a die crack variety from the second year of Lincoln Cent production. Cross-referenced against the Cohen Index as "Not Listed" with a documentation date of March 2, 2017, this variety was identified well after the major reference catalogs were published. A spiked head on a Wheat Cent forms the same way as on modern Shield Cents: a crack opened in Brenner's obverse die between the rim and Lincoln's bust, and planchet metal filled it during striking, leaving a raised protrusion from Lincoln's portrait on every later coin from that die. The 1910 cent was only the second year of the Lincoln design, and production at the Philadelphia Mint was still in its early phase of adapting to the new coin. Brenner's original reverse design — featuring two wheat ears framing the denomination text — had replaced his controversial VDB initials version used briefly in 1909. A spiked head from this early period demonstrates that obverse dies were cracking into the bust from the very beginning of the Lincoln Cent series, a pattern that would continue for over a century. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, SKH-1c-1910-01 is valued by early Lincoln Cent specialists as evidence of die cracks into the bust during the formative years of one of America's most enduring coin designs.

Cross References

• Cross reference number: Cohen Index Not Listed. 03/02/2017.

External References