SKH-1c-1969D-08 Spiked Head

Description

Reported on August 31, 2018, SKH-1c-1969D-08 is the eighth spiked head variety documented for the 1969-D Lincoln Memorial cent. By late 2018, the census for this date had grown to demonstrate a clear pattern: the Denver Mint's production conditions in 1969 generated spiked head varieties at a rate consistent with — or perhaps slightly above — other high-mintage dates of the era. The 1969-D cent's total mintage exceeding 4 billion pieces means that even a relatively low incidence of die gouging per die translates to potentially millions of spiked head coins entering circulation from various affected dies. Of course, most circulated examples have long since been lost to attrition, melting, or export, but sufficient populations survive in accumulated rolls and collections to support ongoing discoveries. The mechanism producing each spike remains consistent across all varieties — foreign-object contact or localized die fracture creating a channel that fills with coin metal — but the visual result varies with each die. Some spikes are short and stubby; others extend dramatically. Collectors who assemble the full set of ten documented 1969-D spiked heads can compare spike morphology across the complete known population for this date.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Alan English
• Cross reference: none. 08/31/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References