SKH-1c-1972-04 Spiked Head

Description

Fourth in the sequence of documented spiked heads for the 1972 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent, SKH-1c-1972-04 was attributed by the Cuds on Coins team on October 16, 2016. No cross-references to other attribution services have been established. The October attribution date places this variety approximately three months after the third entry (July 2016), reflecting a steady pace of discoveries during 2016 as the Cuds on Coins team processed submissions from collectors examining 1972 Philadelphia cents for portrait-region die cracks. With four varieties now documented by late 2016, the spiked head census for 1972-P was beginning to demonstrate that Philadelphia Mint dies of this era were susceptible to the same portrait-apex fatigue failures documented in large numbers for the Denver Mint's 1972 production. The distinction between each spiked head variety rests entirely on the unique geometry of the die crack responsible for the spike: because each obverse die is a separate piece of hardened steel with its own microstructural grain pattern and unique history of thermal and mechanical treatment, crack propagation follows a different path in each die — producing spikes that vary in their angle relative to the portrait, their length of extension from the head, their width, and their precise point of origin on the scalp or crown area. SKH-1c-1972-04 documents one such unique failure path, preserved in the coins struck after the crack developed and before the die was retired from service.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Mike Hassapelis
• Cross reference: none. 10/16/2016.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References