SKH-1c-2000-02 Spiked Head

Description

Second documented spiked head on the 2000 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial Cent, this variety carries a supplementary note identifying a reverse die crack as an additional die marker for attribution. Cataloged on October 6, 2018, by Cuds on Coins with no formal cross-reference in other attribution systems, SKH-1c-2000-02 documents a die clash event on a millennial-year cent — the year 2000 holding psychological significance for many collectors and creating heightened interest in varieties from this date. The spiked head formed through the same mechanism that produces all such varieties: during high-speed production, a planchet feed failure allowed the obverse and reverse dies to contact each other directly, and the Lincoln Memorial reverse's architectural detail transferred into the obverse die, creating a raised spike on Lincoln's portrait. Memorial Cent spiked heads differ visually from Shield Cent spiked heads because the Memorial reverse design — featuring twelve columns and the building's detailed entablature — produces different transferred impressions than the bold geometric Union Shield. The supplementary reverse die crack serves a dual diagnostic purpose: it helps confirm the specific die pair that produced this variety, and it documents secondary die deterioration that may have developed independently of or in connection with the clash event. Two spiked heads from 2000-P represents a modest count, consistent with the relatively lower frequency of spiked head documentation on Memorial Cents compared to the later Shield Cent series. The year 2000 was a transition period in Lincoln Cent production, bridging the twentieth and twenty-first centuries with an unchanged design that would continue until the 2009 bicentennial reverses.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Amy Antone
• Cross reference: none. 10/06/2018.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References