SKH-1c-1944-02 Spiked Head

Description

When a working die develops a crack through the portrait area of Lincoln's head, the fissure acts as a channel during striking — metal from the planchet is forced into the narrow gap under tons of pressure, solidifying as a raised spike or fin that extends outward from the president's profile. This is the mechanism behind SKH-1c-1944-02, cataloged in the Cuds on Coins spiked head registry with no Cohen Index assignment. The 1944 Lincoln Wheat Cent marks the return to a copper-based composition after the unique steel cent experiment of 1943, though the alloy was not the pre-war 95% copper and 5% tin-and-zinc formula — instead, recycled brass shell casings from military ammunition were melted down and used as planchet stock, giving 1944 cents a subtly different color and metallurgical character. Die cracks propagate through steel dies as fatigue fractures, typically originating at stress concentration points around design elements where the relief creates thinner sections in the die face. Victor David Brenner's portrait of Abraham Lincoln, with its detailed hair and beard work, contains numerous such stress points. No Cohen Index number has been assigned to this variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference number: Cohen Index Not Listed. 05/02/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References