SKH-10c-1954-03 Spiked Head

Description

Documented by the Cuds on Coins attribution service, SKH-10c-1954-03 provides a secondary catalog entry for the third spiked head variety on the 1954 Roosevelt silver dime — a duplicate listing that reflects the cross-referencing structure used to ensure comprehensive search coverage across the catalog. The standard naming convention positions this as the third identified instance of die cracking around Roosevelt's portrait on this mid-1950s Philadelphia issue. John R. Sinnock's Roosevelt dime obverse, in production since 1946, features a left-facing portrait with substantial sculptural relief in the hair, ear, and jawline areas that create the stress concentrations in the surrounding die steel where spiked head fractures originate. Philadelphia struck approximately 114.24 million silver dimes in 1954, continuing the 90% silver composition that characterized the series from its inception through 1964. Spiked head varieties on Roosevelt dimes document instances where the die steel fractured at the portrait-to-field boundary, with the resulting crack filling with planchet metal during striking to produce a raised spike-like projection on the finished coin. Three cataloged spiked heads for the 1954 date indicates multiple independent dies developed this failure mode, consistent with the intensive die usage required to produce over 114 million coins. First noted on September 19, 2017, this variety was cataloged during the same period as numerous other Roosevelt dime spiked heads, part of a systematic documentation effort across the series. The silver composition of pre-1965 Roosevelt dimes creates a slightly different striking dynamic than later clad issues, as the softer silver planchets flow more readily into die cracks under pressure, potentially producing more pronounced spike projections on silver specimens compared to their clad counterparts. Collectors should examine the portrait perimeter under moderate magnification with oblique lighting to detect any raised projections extending into the field.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference: none. 09/19/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References