2016 (P) Lincoln Shield Cent - SKH-1c-2016-15 Spiked Head

Description

A spiked head variety on the 2016-P Lincoln Shield cent, SKH-1c-2016-15 documents an instance of obverse die crack deterioration. The spiked head mechanism is a well-understood consequence of die fatigue: the incuse areas of the Lincoln portrait die contain narrow ridges of tool steel that separate design elements such as individual hair strands, the brow line, and the profile contour. Under repeated impact from the copper-plated zinc planchets, these ridges eventually crack, and the resulting gap fills with metal during striking to produce a raised spine — the spike — on the finished coin. Each working die develops its crack at a unique location determined by that particular die's metallurgical characteristics, the specific stresses it experienced during hubbing and heat treatment, and the cumulative striking load it absorbed during service. Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait, paired with Lyndall Bass's Union Shield reverse featuring the shield with thirteen vertical stripes, constitutes the current Lincoln cent format that has been in production since 2010. Cataloged by the Cuds on Coins service with no known cross-references, SKH-1c-2016-15 requires comparison of the spike's position, angle, and length against published diagnostic images for positive attribution. Standard 10-15x magnification reveals the spike as a thin metallic protrusion extending beyond Lincoln's normal profile outline.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 12/10/2018.

External References