SKH-1c-1966-03 Spiked Head

Description

Recorded as SKH-1c-1966-03, this third spiked head variety for the 1966 Lincoln cent was documented on 08/12/2019 and, like SKH-1c-1966-02, carries no Cohen Index cross-reference. Two of the four cataloged spiked heads for 1966 lack Cohen Index numbers, indicating that the Cohen catalog — while comprehensive — does not encompass every documented spiked head variety, and the Cuds on Coins project serves as a supplementary cataloging authority that captures varieties beyond the Cohen reference's scope. The formation of spiked heads on Lincoln cent dies is influenced by the geometry of the portrait design: Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial cent obverse features a deeply sculpted bust that creates significant depth variation in the die cavity, and the transition zones between deep recesses and the surrounding field are stress concentration points where cracks preferentially develop. The direction of a spike often follows the local contour of the portrait, with spikes commonly emerging from the top of the head, the forehead, or the back of the skull where the die steel transitions abruptly from the portrait cavity to the field. The 1966 cent was produced at the Philadelphia Mint without mint marks under the Coinage Act of 1965, with a total business strike output of 2,188,147,783 cents representing the highest annual production of the three-year no-mint-mark period. Attributed by Cuds on Coins. Struck on a 3.11-gram, 19mm planchet of 95% copper and 5% zinc.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Durney
• Cross reference: Cohen Index Not Listed. 08/12/2019.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References