SKH-25c-1996P-17 Spiked Head

Description

With seventeen or more distinct spiked head varieties cataloged for the 1996 Philadelphia Quarter alone, SKH-25c-1996P-17 illustrates how prevalent die deterioration was in this production year. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety comes from a unique die that developed the characteristic raised protrusions emanating from Washington's portrait — each spike pattern as individual as a fingerprint, reflecting the specific failure mode of that particular die. The Washington Clad Quarter series (1965–1998) used a copper-nickel clad composition that, while durable, still subjected dies to enormous repeated stress when striking the 24.3mm planchet at production speeds. By the mid-1990s, the Mint was producing hundreds of millions of quarters annually at each facility, cycling through dies at a pace that made deterioration varieties like spiked heads an inevitable byproduct of high-volume production. The sheer number of documented 1996-P spiked heads reflects both die usage rates and dedicated collector surveillance.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Sonja Sheldon
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References