SKH-1c-1950-18 Spike Head

Description

Proof Lincoln Wheat Cents from 1950 produced this eighteenth documented spike head variety, cataloged as SKH-1c-1950-18 and first reported on June 11, 2018. Proof coins are struck on specially prepared planchets using polished dies at slower press speeds than business strikes, and die clash events in proof production are particularly notable because the controlled environment makes such incidents relatively uncommon. When a die clash does occur during proof striking — the dies contacting each other without an intervening planchet — the resulting transferred design elements produce a spike on Lincoln's portrait that contrasts dramatically against the mirror-like proof surface. The 1950 proof cent was part of a proof set year with a mintage of 51,386 sets, produced exclusively at the Philadelphia Mint. Eighteen spike heads from proof production of this date indicates that multiple proof die pairs experienced clash events across the year's proof run, a surprisingly high count for the controlled proof production environment. Each spike head is individually identified by the precise location and geometry of the protruding spike relative to Lincoln's portrait. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, no cross-references to other numbering systems have been established for this variety. Proof Wheat Cent spike heads occupy a distinctive niche in die variety collecting, combining the visual appeal of proof surfaces with the diagnostic interest of die clash artifacts, and the 1950 date places this variety in the later proof era before the Mint relocated proof production to San Francisco in 1968.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference number: none. 06/11/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References