1956 Lincoln Wheat Cent - SKH-1c-1956-01B Spiked Head

Description

Documented on a 1956 Lincoln Wheat Cent from the Philadelphia Mint, this spiked head variety displays a raised spike projecting from Lincoln's head — a feature caused by a die gouge, die crack, or die chip in the die that creates a corresponding raised element on the struck coin. Spiked head varieties on Lincoln Cents are a distinct collecting specialty, with each spike position, angle, and size cataloged individually. This particular specimen is cross-referenced under multiple attribution systems: Cohen catalogs it as 56-B615 and 56-B613 under the "Spiked Head" designation, while Hardy assigns it 56P-4F+24, placing it precisely within the Hardy positional framework. The 1956 Philadelphia cent was struck during the penultimate full production year of Victor David Brenner's iconic Wheat Ears reverse, which had been in continuous use since 1909 and would be replaced by Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial design in 1959. Philadelphia's massive 1956 cent production consumed many die pairs, and the mechanical stresses of high-speed striking created conditions conducive to the gouges and cracks that produce spiked head varieties. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety is designated with the "B" suffix indicating its specific die state or variant classification within the SKH numbering system.

Cross References

• Cross references: SKH-1c-1956-01B,  Cohen 56-B615 & 56-B613 “Spiked Head”, Hardy 56P-4F+24.

External References