1945 Lincoln Wheat Cent - SKH-1c-1945-01 Spiked Head

Description

Struck in 1945 as World War II drew to a close, this Lincoln Wheat Cent belongs to the wartime shell casing brass composition, which continued through 1946 before the Mint returned to its standard bronze alloy in 1947. Cataloged as SKH-1c-1945-01 in the Cuds on Coins spiked head registry, this variety exhibits the characteristic raised spike projecting from Lincoln's head that results from a die crack channeling metal upward during striking. No Cohen Index number has been assigned. The 1945 Lincoln Cent continued the practice begun in 1944 of recycling spent military ammunition casings into cent planchets, a composition that would not recur in the series. High wartime production demands placed extraordinary wear on working dies, and the 1945 Philadelphia Mint output of over one billion cents meant individual die pairs were pushed through extended production runs that accelerated fatigue cracking. Spiked head varieties are a natural consequence of this production intensity — as dies accumulated millions of impressions, fractures propagated through the hardened steel, and those cracks intersecting Lincoln's portrait created the raised spikes that collectors now seek. The "-01" sequence suffix indicates this was among the earliest spiked head dies documented for the 1945 date in the Cuds on Coins catalog.

Cross References

• Cross reference number: Cohen Index Not Listed. 08/23/2016.

External References