1950 Lincoln Wheat Cent - SKH-1c-1950-18 Spiked Head

Description

Eighteenth spiked head variety documented for the 1950 Philadelphia Lincoln wheat cent, SKH-1c-1950-18 records a die crack from a year when post-war America was adjusting to the early stages of the Korean War. Philadelphia produced approximately 272.6 million cents in 1950, maintaining the standard bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) that had been restored after the wartime steel and shell-casing-brass experiments of 1943-1946. The high count of spiked head varieties for 1950 — at least 18 for Philadelphia alone — means at least 18 different Philadelphia obverse dies cracked into Lincoln's bust that year. A spiked head forms when a crack opens in the obverse die between the rim and Lincoln's bust. Planchet metal fills the crack on every strike, so it appears as a raised spike on coins struck subsequently, with each variety distinguished by the unique position, direction, and length of its spike. Lincoln's portrait, sculpted by Victor David Brenner for the 1909 debut, was entering its fifth decade of continuous production by 1950, and the wheat ears reverse by the same designer was approaching its final decade before the 1959 introduction of the Memorial reverse. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, SKH-1c-1950-18 contributes to a spiked head census that can be compared across dates and mints. Collectors should use 10-15x magnification focused on the head and profile area of Lincoln's portrait, looking for a thin raised line projecting outward that replicates consistently across multiple specimens from this die.

Cross References

• Cross reference number: none. 06/11/2018.

External References