1998 (P) Lincoln Memorial Cent - SKH-1c-1998-11 Spike Head

Description

Frank Gasparro's Lincoln Memorial reverse, depicting the memorial facade with its columned portico, paired with Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait that by 1998 had been in continuous production for nearly nine decades. The transition to copper-plated zinc planchets in 1982 altered the striking dynamics that affect die longevity — zinc-core planchets with thin copper plating behave differently under the striking press compared to the solid brass alloy used previously, and some researchers have suggested the material change influenced the frequency and character of certain die failure types. Spike head varieties, however, appear consistently across both composition eras because their formation depends primarily on die steel fatigue at a geometric stress concentration rather than on planchet metallurgy. The crown of Lincoln's head, where the deeply incuse hair detail in the die creates a thin wall adjacent to the shallower field area, serves as the universal initiation point for spike head cracks regardless of the substrate being struck. Identification is assisted by the spike's location at the most prominent point on the coin's obverse — the raised feature extending upward from Lincoln's hair disrupts the expected portrait contour and can be detected at modest magnification, making spike heads one of the more collector-friendly die variety types for both beginners and experienced numismatists.

External References