SKH-1c-1962D-03 Spiked Head
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Description
Completing the trio of known Spiked Head varieties for the 1962-D Lincoln Memorial Cent, SKH-1c-1962D-03 records a third distinct die that developed a crack or break extending from Lincoln's head during its service at the Denver Mint. This variety is cross-referenced to the Cohen Index as NL (Not Listed), meaning it does not appear in the Cohen die-crack reference and was identified independently by Cuds on Coins, adding a previously undocumented die to the 1962-D Spiked Head population. The NL designation often signals a variety that was discovered after the Cohen catalog was compiled or one that was considered too minor for inclusion in that reference, though for dedicated Spiked Head collectors such entries are valued precisely because their absence from major references can make them harder to locate and less widely recognized in dealer inventories. The three Spiked Head varieties documented for the 1962-D cent — 62D-54C, 62D-57, and this NL entry — represent three separate dies that each developed head-area fractures at different points in their production lives, illustrating how the enormous striking volume at the Denver Mint in 1962 pushed multiple dies past the threshold where the steel surrounding the high-relief portrait began to fail. Collectors assembling a comprehensive set of 1962-D die varieties should seek all three Spiked Head entries, noting that the NL variety may prove the most elusive due to its absence from standard references and the resulting lower level of awareness among dealers and cherry-pickers.
Attribution History
- Discovered by Robert Oney
- Cross reference: Cohen Index NL. 05/17/2021.
- Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins