SKH-25c-1998P-04 Spiked Head

Description

A reverse die crack running from the rim to the double-L in DOLLAR provides a distinctive diagnostic marker for this fourth spiked head variety on the 1998 Philadelphia Washington Quarter. The crack's path — originating at the rim and terminating at a specific inscription element — maps the fracture's trajectory across the reverse die face, giving attributors a clear feature to confirm identification beyond the primary obverse spike. This 1998 issue was the final year Flanagan's classic eagle reverse appeared on Washington Quarters in regular production; the following year's launch of the State Quarter program would introduce fifty unique reverse designs over a decade. The spiked head on Washington's portrait, combined with the traced reverse crack, documents a die pair experiencing deterioration on both sides simultaneously. Fourth in the spiked head catalog for 1998-P, the variety joins a small group of quarter spiked heads from the twilight of the original Washington Quarter design. Cataloged as SKH-25c-1998P-04 by Cuds on Coins, this variety captures the intersection of portrait-area die damage with a precisely located reverse fracture.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Pietro Terranova
• Cross reference: none. 08/15/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References