SKH-1c-2021-18 Spiked Head

Description

Eighteenth spiked head in the 2021-P Lincoln Shield cent census, SKH-1c-2021-18 falls within the first third of a die crack catalog that would eventually exceed 53 varieties for this date. Philadelphia's 2021 cent production of approximately 4.18 billion pieces required an immense number of working dies, and the consistent pace of spiked head discoveries — from early single digits through the teens to an eventual 50+ — reflects both the sustained die consumption and the methodical examination of cent rolls by variety collectors throughout the year. At position 18, this variety was documented during the middle phase of discovery, after the initial wave of prominent spiked heads had been identified but well before the census reached its final extent. The spiked head mechanism is uniform across all Lincoln cent production: die steel ridges adjacent to the incuse portrait fracture from repeated striking, and planchet metal fills the resulting channel to create a thin raised projection on finished coins. Victor David Brenner's obverse portrait, in continuous production since 1909, provides the detailed die topography — hair strands, brow line, profile contour — where these fractures preferentially initiate. The Union Shield reverse by Lyle Okerlund, featuring the thirteen-stripe shield, scroll banner, and national motto, has been the standard cent reverse since 2010. Each spiked head is catalogically unique because each originates from a different crack on a different die, producing a spike at a distinct position and angle. Attribution to SKH-18 rather than neighboring numbers in the dense 2021-P census requires careful comparison of the spike's exact portrait-area location against published Cuds on Coins reference images. Collectors should use 10-15x magnification with directional lighting to resolve the thin metallic projection and determine its positional characteristics.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Thomas DeHart
• Cross reference: none. 07/04/2023.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References