2018 (P) Lincoln Shield Cent - SKH-1c-2018-06 Spiked Head

Description

This variety is a spiked head documented for the 2018 Philadelphia Mint Lincoln Shield Cent. By 2018, the Union Shield reverse had been in production for nine years, and the die variety community had refined its techniques for locating and documenting spiked heads to a high degree of efficiency. A spiked head forms when a crack opens in the obverse die and runs from the rim into Lincoln's bust; metal filling the crack produces a raised spike on Lincoln's head. Multiple obverse dies cracked this way during 2018-P production — not surprising given that Philadelphia manufactures billions of cents annually using hundreds of die pairs across continuous press runs. The 2018-P cent is part of the copper-plated zinc composition that has been standard since 1982, and the interaction between zinc planchets and hardened die steel occurs at extremely high speeds. SKH-1c-2018-06 is cataloged by Cuds on Coins. Spiked head varieties on recent Shield Cents remain findable for new hobbyists entering the field.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 04/12/2022.

External References