I was looking thru a pile of wheaties I have and found this laminated wheat cent which I guess they call it the cracked skull? I searched online but couldn't find any with a crack such as this with good detail. What I was wondering is are there alot of these out there like this one? Or is the cracked skull from a cracked die?
I guess I should rephrase my question though after reading my post. Is the so called Cracked Skull from lamination or a cracked die? I've noticed that people are saying both on the net or does it even matter?
Cracked skulls are the result of cracks in the die that transfer to the coin as raised lines. However, they are usually the highest part on the coin. On worn coins they are often flat and spread. Laminations are defects in planchetts caused by a bad alloy mix, bubbles or impurities in the molten. Laminating coins are in some stage of metal separating from the coin. It appears yours is a lamination. As for cracked skulls, there are thousands of them, literally, just for the 50's.
You also have an early stage die crack between the D in God ane W in We. A die crack that goes through God is a devil's tail. They're hard to find.
It might be hard to tell thru the photo but it looks like one of those poor mans on the last five too.
The S and T on trust are also doubled a bit. If you were to put a value on this then what price would you give it?
There's also a die gouge or something at the left shoulder. I also don't really know what the lamination would be worth. That's a planchett error not a failed die error-it's getting late.