Indian Cents are popular to younger collectors, almost as popular as the Lincoln Cent. The mint produces them for 50 years, changing the composition of the coin twice.
The year 1857 would see tough times not only in the United States, but internationally as well. Slavery here in the US was a big topic, but an even bigger topic was 1857 would be the first time that there was a worldwide economic crisis. One of the reasons behind this would be the sinking of the USS Central America which was bringing gold from San Francisco to the eastern banks.
1857 saw a Coinage Act which no longer allowed foreign coins as legal tender in the United States. The act would also stop the production of half cents and reduce the diameter of the cent from 27.5 millimeters to 19 millimeters.
A pattern of a small cent is given to Congress in 1856. As a result, the Flying Eagle Cent is the first small cent seen by the public in 1857. Though 42,000,000 are minted between 1857 and 1858, the Flying Eagle Cent is not popular as it was difficult to strike and considering of shrinking the eagle was not popular. Chief Engraver of the US Mint, James Longacre is now given the task to design a new cent to replace his Flying Eagle Cent.
Brief History of the Indian Cents
The initial story behind the design of the Indian Cents is that Longacre’s 12 year old daughter, Sarah, appears at the mint. When wearing an Indian headdress, her father sketches her. This cannot be true as Sarah was 30 years old in 1858. Longacre claims his inspiration is viewing a statue of Venus that is currently in Philadelphia from the Vatican.
In any case, the rule of thumb is the obverse of a US coin needs to have a depiction of the goddess Liberty. Back then, the Half Dime, Dime, Quarter, Half Dollar and Dollar would display a Seated Liberty on their obverses. However, Longacre did it, the obverse of the new cent would display a Caucasian woman with an Indian headdress.
The Indian Head Cent was first minted in 1859 with a composition of 88% copper and 12% nickel. The reverse would display a laurel wreath, but would change in 1860 to an oak wreath with a small shield on the top.
Changes To Indian Cents
By 1864, nickel is in high demand. The Coinage Act of 1864 makes the Indian Cent thinner with a composition of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. This is how it stays till the end of the Indian Head Cent in 1909. Philadelphia mints the Indian Cent from 1859 to 1908 and San Francisco produces them in 1908 and 1909.
By 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt wanted a new look on US coins and allowed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design a new cent and four gold coins. At the time, Charles Barber’s coins, the Liberty Nickel, Barber Dime, Barber Quarter and Barber Half Dollar last less than 25 years which meant Congress would have to approve them. The Indian Cent had been around over 40 years at the time.
Roosevelt sees the opportunity to change it. Unfortunately by 1907, a doctor diagnoses Saint-Gaudens with cancer and passes away in August. At the time, the only design he shows the President for the cent is a flying eagle design. This can’t be used because of an act in 1873 which won’t allow an eagle on a US cent. As a result, the next cent displays Abraham Lincoln as the centennial of his birth will occur in 1909. The last Indian Cents are minted in Philadelphia and San Francisco in 1909.
Indian Cents are still popular to coin collectors today as they were during the 50-year period that they’re minted. If you were building a US Type Set, you could include three different Indian Cents:
- 1859 with the Laurel Wreath reverse
- 1860 – 1864 which included nickel
- 1864 – 1909 which were thinner without nickel
Key Dates Of The Indian Cent
Ask a coin collector what the key date for the Indian Cent collection would be, and most of them would say the 1877 cent. Production of the cent reduced after the Civil War seeing only 852,500 minted in 1877. By 1880, production increased again with the first 100,000,000 mintage occurring in 1907.
Other key dates include the two San Francisco coins, 1908-S and 1909-S. In fact, the 1909-S would have the lowest mintage at only 309.000, but the 1877 cent is still more valuable.
Indian Cent Values
Based on the 2018 Red Book:
- 1859 – $15 in Good Condition, $55 in Very Fine, $285 in Mint State 60
- 1860 – 1864 – $15 in Good Condition, $30 to $60 in Very Fine, $110 to $300 in Mint State 60
- 1864 – 1876, 1878 – $15 to $100 in Good Condition, $30 to $500 in Very Fine, $90 to $1,000 in Mint State 60
- 1877 – $900 in Good Condition, $2,000 in Very Fine, $3,800 in Mint State 60
- 1879 – 1909 – $2 to $12 in Good Condition, $6 to $30 in Very Fine, $40 to $100 in Mint State 60
- 1908-S – $90 in Good Condition, $145 in Very Fine, $290 in Mint State 60
- 1909-S – $400 in Good Condition, $550 in Very Fine, $1,000 in Mint State 60
For The Most Part, The Indian Cent Is The Toughest to Collect
If you take out the 1877 and 1909-S, an Indian Cent collection is not impossible to do. The last 30 years would be easy to collect with their higher mintages. Something to consider, don’t you think?