SKH-10c-1964D-03 Spiked Head

Description

Ranking third among the spiked head varieties for the 1964-D Roosevelt dime, SKH-10c-1964D-03 captures another instance of die crack deterioration on the obverse of John R. Sinnock's design during the frenzied final year of silver dime production. Denver's 1964 dime output of approximately 1.36 billion pieces represented an unprecedented production surge, fueled by public hoarding of silver coins as news spread of the impending composition change to copper-nickel clad. This massive striking volume subjected working dies to intense mechanical stress, and the resulting die cracks form the basis of spiked head varieties where a fracture in the die's incuse portrait area creates a channel that fills with metal during striking, producing a thin raised projection from Roosevelt's head. Each spiked head variety represents a unique die — the crack develops in a different location, extends in a different direction, and produces a spike of different length and orientation. The progression from SKH-10c-1964D-01 through at least -04 documents at least four independent die crack events on 1964-D Roosevelt dime obverse dies, collectively providing a sample of die failure patterns under the extreme production demands of the last silver year. The Roosevelt dime portrait presents several areas vulnerable to crack initiation: the high-relief hair waves above the forehead, the concavity behind the ear, and the truncation at the neck base each represent stress concentration points where the die steel is most likely to develop fractures. First cataloged on July 17, 2017, by the Cuds on Coins service with no cross-references, this variety joins a cluster of 1964-D spiked heads that together document the toll exacted on Denver Mint dies by the historic production volumes of 1964.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Juan Aguerre
• Cross reference: none. 07/17/201/.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References