1997 (P) Jefferson Nickel - SKH-5c-1997P-05 Spiked Head

Description

Reaching five documented spiked heads for the 1997 Philadelphia Mint Jefferson Nickel, SKH-5c-1997P-05 demonstrates that this late-1990s date produced a meaningful number of cracked obverse dies during its production run. Five spiked heads means at least five separate obverse dies developed a crack running from the rim into Jefferson's bust. Each of the five 1997-P spiked heads presents a unique spike profile, set by the path its crack took across the die. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins on May 27, 2017 — over a year after the first four entries were documented — this fifth variety likely emerged from continued searching of 1997-P populations. The 1997 production year preceded the transformative 1999 launch of the State Quarters program, which would shift significant public numismatic attention to quarters, but nickel production at Philadelphia continued unaffected. Five spiked heads for a single Jefferson Nickel date represents a solid count within the original design era, comparable to many dates in the series and sufficient to show that obverse dies cracked into the bust throughout nickel coining operations.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 05/27/2017.

External References