2016 (P) Lincoln Shield Cent - SKH-1c-2016-12 Spiked Head

Description

A spiked head variety on the 2016-P Lincoln Shield cent, SKH-1c-2016-12 documents a portrait-area die crack from the seventh production year of the Shield reverse design at Philadelphia. The spiked head phenomenon has become one of the defining die variety types of the Shield cent era, with variety hunters routinely identifying new examples across every production year since the design's 2010 debut. The formation mechanism is fundamentally a story of mechanical fatigue: the incuse channels that form Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait in the working die are separated by narrow ridges of tool steel, and these ridges represent stress concentration points where cyclic loading from repeated striking initiates cracks. Once a crack opens, each subsequent strike forces planchet metal — the copper-plated zinc alloy used since 1982 — into the gap, building a raised projection on finished coins. The projection's position on Lincoln's portrait, its direction of extension, and its approximate dimensions are determined by the crack's geometry on the specific working die, making each spiked head positionally unique. Lyndall Bass's Union Shield reverse, featuring the bold geometric shield design with scroll banner and national motto, provides the reverse design context. The Cuds on Coins service catalogs each variety and provides reference imagery for attribution. Collectors seeking to confirm SKH-12 should use 10-15x magnification to locate the spike on Lincoln's portrait and compare its positional attributes against published diagnostics.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 04/23/2018.

External References