Description

The obverse features a Liberty bust with an Indian headdress decorated with the word LIBERTY, the words "United States of America" and the date in which the coin was struck. The reverse has a shield, wreath of oak leaves with a ribbon wrapped around three arrows, and the words "One Cent". The reverse of the first year issue pieces dated 1859 have a slightly different laurel wreath, the words "One Cent" and do not display a shield or arrows.

General Information

These U.S. cents, designed by James B. Longacre, were minted from 1859 to 1909 and are 19 mm in size. All were struck at the Philadelphia Mint except for the 1908-S and the 1909-S cents which were stuck at the San Francisco Mint. The "S" mint mark is located on the reverse below the wreath.

Pieces struck from 1859 till the first half of 1864 are copper and nickel in composition giving them a lighter color in appearance. Coin collectors later affectionately called these copper-nickel small cents "White Pennies". In the last half of 1864 the composition was changed to bronze, an alloy of copper, tin and zinc. The bronze composition remained in use through the last year of issue in 1909.

Some 1864 bronze cents have a letter "L" which stands for "Longacre", the designer's initial. The "L" is turned sideways and is located on the obverse in Liberty's hair to the right of the ribbon and hair curl just below the feathers. The 1864 "L" variety also has a pointed bust, the area at the base of Liberty's neck pointing left. The more common 1864 cent that has a rounded bust does not feature the designer's initial. Longacre's initial was removed after a short period of production making this variety's value worth a bit more than the plain 1864 bronze cent.

Author's Notes & Comments

These were nicknamed "Indian Head" cents for the obvious reason that Miss Liberty looked more like a native American Indian.

The key date of the Indian Head cent series is the 1877 cent. Semi-key dates include the 1864 "L", 1908-S and 1909-S cents. Other better date coins are the 1861 copper-nickel cent and the bronze cents that date 1866 to 1876 and 1878. There are also a few other varieties that command a premium price however these may be less likely to be encountered by the novice collector. The most common Indian Head cents are dated 1880 through 1899 (except 1888 with the last 8 repunched over a 7) and especially common are the cents dated 1900 to 1909 struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

I have seen a very convincing 1909-S Indian Head cent that was a counterfeit coin. It was indeed an Indian Head cent however the "S" mint mark below the wreath had been expertly tooled and looked very real. A tool such as a very small chisel or engraving tool had been used to push the metal surface inwards and upwards to from a letter "S". If you are looking for a 1909-S Indian Head cent to add to your collection then please be aware of possible counterfeits. Examine those mint marks carefully with a magnifying lens and always buy from a reputable coin dealer that will guarantee that the coin is genuine.

Specially struck Proof issues were also minted by the Philadelphia Mint to sell to collectors.