SKH-25c-1995P-01 Spiked Head

Description

First cataloged spiked head for the 1995 Philadelphia Mint Washington Quarter, this variety establishes the baseline entry for die clash documentation on a date that preceded the transformative 50 State Quarters program by just four years. During the mid-1990s, quarter production at Philadelphia served routine circulation needs, generating substantial mintages that ensured numerous die pairs were consumed throughout the production year. Each die pair that experienced a clash event — a strike cycle without a planchet between the obverse and reverse dies — had the potential to produce a spiked head variety. The heraldic eagle reverse designed by John Flanagan and used continuously since 1932 provided the design elements that transferred into the obverse die during these events. Depending on the exact rotational alignment and tilt of the dies at the moment of contact, the resulting spike could emerge from various positions on Washington's portrait. SKH-25c-1995P-01 was first reported on April 14, 2017, and is maintained in the Cuds on Coins catalog, which assigns sequential numbers to spiked heads organized by denomination, date, and mint. No external cross-references have been identified for this variety. The -01 designation marks this as either the only currently known spiked head for 1995-P quarters or the initial discovery in what may become a longer sequence as additional coins are examined by die variety specialists working through rolls and bags of mid-1990s quarter production.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Andrew Wojtowich
• Cross reference: none. 04/14/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References