SKH-1d-JQA-2008P-01 Spike Head

Description

Sharing the same catalog designation as its Position A counterpart, this SKH-1d-JQA-2008P-01 spiked head variety appears on the 2008 Presidential Dollar honoring John Quincy Adams with Position B edge lettering — the alternative orientation of the incused date, mint mark, and motto on the coin's edge. The distinction between Position A and Position B on Presidential Dollars refers to whether the edge lettering reads correctly when the obverse faces up (Position A) or when the reverse faces up (Position B), a feature that effectively doubles the varieties available for any given die failure. Both positions were produced at the Philadelphia Mint during normal production, and the presence of a spiked head on both edge orientations may indicate the same obverse die was used across multiple striking setups, or that separate dies experienced similar failure patterns in the Adams portrait area. The spiked head itself — a raised protrusion extending from the portrait caused by a die chip or progressive crack — forms at the highest relief point where die steel experiences maximum stress during each strike. Presidential Dollar spiked heads are less extensively cataloged than their Lincoln Cent equivalents, and paired Position A/B examples offer collectors the opportunity to study whether identical or independent die failures produced specimens across both edge orientations.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Jeff Ylitalo
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References