SKH-1c-2013-04 Spiked Head

Description

Catalogued by Cuds on Coins, the SKH-1c-2013-04 Spiked Head is a die deterioration variety documented on the 2013 Philadelphia Lincoln Shield Cent. Spiked head coins are produced when a working die develops a raised burr or sliver at the top of the portrait — typically the result of a fine crack along the design boundary allowing displaced die metal to protrude into the field cavity. When the die strikes a planchet, that protruding material impresses a sharp, spike-like raised element above Lincoln's head on the finished coin. The 2013 Shield Cents were struck at Philadelphia, a facility that operates without a mint mark on the cent, and are part of the ongoing Lincoln Shield series that began in 2010 following the four Bicentennial reverse designs of 2009. Die-state varieties like spiked heads are inherently transitional: they only appear on coins struck during the window when the die crack has opened enough to produce the spike but before the die is retired or the crack expands into a full cud. This finite production window contributes to their relative scarcity in the series. Collectors of modern Lincoln cent die varieties prize documented spiked head listings as precise attributions enable focused registry-set building and accurate market comparisons.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Lakay Cillitok
• Cross reference: none 07/17/2017.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References