1972 (D) Lincoln Memorial Cent - SKH-1c-1972D-07 Spiked Head

Description

Seventh spiked head variety in the 1972-D Lincoln Memorial cent catalog, SKH-1c-1972D-07 was documented by the Cuds on Coins attribution team on October 22, 2017, continuing the concentrated burst of attributions during that month. No external cross-references have been established for this variety. The rapid sequence of October 2017 documentations — SKH-05 on the 19th, SKH-06 on the 20th, and SKH-07 on the 22nd — suggests either a batch submission of multiple varieties by a single researcher or a coordinated cataloging effort to clear a backlog of pending attributions. Regardless of the administrative timeline, each entry represents a physically distinct die that developed its own unique crack pattern in the portrait region during service at the Denver Mint. The spiked head category holds enduring popularity among Lincoln cent collectors because the varieties are dramatic enough to spot without extreme magnification yet numerous enough to form meaningful collecting objectives. Each spike's unique geometry results from the stochastic nature of crack propagation through polycrystalline die steel: even under identical loading conditions, cracks will follow different paths through different dies because no two dies have identical microstructure at the critical stress concentration point atop Lincoln's head. This physical reality ensures that every spiked head variety is genuinely one-of-a-kind in its crack morphology.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 10/22/2107.

External References