2016 (P) Lincoln Shield Cent - SKH-1c-2016-09 Spiked Head

Description

SKH-1c-2016-09 is a spiked head on the 2016-P Lincoln Shield cent. Spiked heads on Lincoln Shield cents originate from the same fundamental mechanism as their wheat and Memorial cent predecessors: the narrow ridges of die steel that separate incuse portrait elements fracture under repeated striking impact, creating channels that capture planchet metal and form raised projections on the finished coin. The copper-plated zinc composition used since 1982 is particularly susceptible to flowing into die cracks because the zinc core deforms readily under striking pressure, and the resulting spikes are often clearly defined even when the underlying crack is quite fine. Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait provides the design context for all spiked head varieties, and the portrait's detailed hair rendering — representing individual strands through closely spaced incuse lines — creates the highest density of vulnerable die steel ridges. Lyndall Bass's Union Shield reverse, featuring a shield whose thirteen vertical stripes stand for the states joined under a horizontal bar for the federal government, has paired with the obverse since 2010 to form the Shield cent. Cataloged by the Cuds on Coins service without cross-references, identification requires standard 10-15x magnification and comparison against published diagnostics.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 06/26/2017.

External References