SKH-1c-1936-01 Spiked Head

Description

First cataloged spiked head variety on the 1936 Lincoln wheat cent, SKH-1c-1936-01 documents a die cracking event during one of the higher-production pre-war years of Victor David Brenner's cent design. The Cuds on Coins attribution service cataloged this variety using the standard format — SKH for spiked head, 1c for cent, 1936 for date, and 01 for the first identified example. Philadelphia struck approximately 309.64 million wheat cents in 1936, a substantial Depression-era recovery output that subjected working dies to extensive service across the production year. The 1936 date holds particular numismatic significance as the year that saw some of the most prolific commemorative coin production in United States history, alongside the regular-issue coinage that included these wheat cents. Spiked head varieties result from die fractures that develop at the critical stress boundary between Lincoln's raised portrait and the surrounding recessed field — a region where the repeated compressive forces of striking concentrate mechanical stress in the die steel. The fracture fills with planchet metal during subsequent strikes, transferring as a raised spike-like projection extending from the portrait into the adjacent field. Each spiked head variety exhibits unique spike characteristics — direction, length, thickness, and position around the portrait perimeter — determined by the specific fracture path through the die steel, which in turn depends on local metallurgical conditions, stress distribution, and cumulative fatigue history. First listed on April 1, 2016, this variety was among the initial wave of systematic spiked head documentation that the Cuds on Coins service compiled across the wheat cent series. Collectors examining 1936 wheat cents should inspect the portrait boundary under 10x magnification with oblique lighting that casts shadows along any raised projections departing from the bust into the field.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Antenucci
• Cross reference: none. 04/01/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References