1956 (D) Lincoln Wheat Cent - SKH-1c-1956D-01 Spiked Head

Description

Opening the spiked head record for the 1956 Denver Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, this inaugural entry carries a Cohen cross-reference of 56D- (with the specific Cohen number pending full assignment) and was documented on September 26, 2018. The spiked head on a Wheat Cent forms the same way as on later Lincoln designs: a crack opens in the obverse die between the rim and Lincoln's bust, and metal filling the crack produces a raised protrusion from Lincoln's portrait on subsequent strikes. Denver Mint production of 1956-D cents was substantial — 1,098,201,100 coins — consuming a large number of die pairs. As the sole documented spiked head for 1956-D, SKH-1c-1956D-01 suggests either that this date has received less systematic examination than some others, or that few of Denver's 1956 obverse dies cracked in this way. The 1956-D was the antepenultimate Denver Mint Wheat Cent — only 1957-D and 1958-D followed before the transition to the Memorial reverse. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety connects the late Wheat Cent era to the broader spiked head phenomenon that would become one of the most actively collected modern die variety specialties.

Cross References

• Cross reference number:  Cohen 56D-. 09/26/2018.

External References