SKH-1c-1971D-30 Spiked Head

Description

Marking the thirtieth documented spiked head variety for the 1971-D Lincoln Memorial cent, SKH-1c-1971D-30 was recorded by Cuds on Coins on February 23, 2018 — a milestone entry that pushed the catalog into territory unprecedented for any date in the Memorial cent series. Thirty distinct working dies developing cracks at Lincoln's head from a single year's production at a single Mint facility defies comparison with other dates, where even five spiked head varieties would be considered a notably productive year. The Denver Mint's 1971 production run consumed an extraordinary number of obverse dies to strike approximately 2.91 billion cents, and SKH-30 confirms that the die crack phenomenon at Lincoln's head was not a marginal occurrence but a statistically significant failure mode affecting a meaningful fraction of the die population. No cross-references to external attribution catalogs have been established. The collecting significance of reaching SKH-30 lies in the challenge it presents: assembling a complete set requires locating thirty distinct varieties of what is visually a subtle phenomenon — a thin raised line extending from Lincoln's head — and correctly attributing each one through careful comparison of crack geometry against the published reference photographs. At this depth, the differences between adjacent catalog entries can be narrow, demanding both magnification equipment and familiarity with the specific crack profiles documented for each variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference: none. 02/23/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References