SKH-1c-1958-05 Spiked Head

Description

Fifth spiked head for the 1958 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Wheat Cent, cross-referenced as Cohen Index Pending with a documentation date of September 17, 2016 — indicating the variety had been submitted to the Cohen classification system but awaited formal number assignment at the time of cataloging. The 1958 date occupies a pivotal position in Lincoln Cent history as the final year of Victor David Brenner's wheat ears reverse, which had been in continuous production since the series' 1909 debut — a forty-nine-year run that stands as one of the longest for any reverse design in United States coinage. Spiked heads on the terminal Wheat Cent date arise from die clashes where the wheat ears reverse impresses into the obverse die, and the organic form of the wheat stalks creates spike characteristics distinct from those produced by later geometric reverse designs. Five spiked heads documented for the 1958-P reflects moderate die clash activity during the final production year, consistent with a period when die production for the wheat ears reverse was a fully mature, well-optimized process. The Philadelphia Mint's 1958 cent production was substantial, though the public did not yet know that the wheat ears design was about to be retired — Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse would debut the following year, making every 1958 Wheat Cent unknowingly the last of its kind. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety adds to the terminal-year documentation that collectors of the Wheat Cent series particularly value, as final-year die varieties carry the weight of a design's conclusion and the transition to its successor.

Attribution History

• Discovered by JC Stevens
• Cross reference number: Cohen Index Pending. 09/17/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References