The Indian Head Cent is one of the most recognizable small coins of nineteenth-century America. Issued from 1859 through 1909, the coin circulated through the Civil War, Reconstruction, westward expansion and the beginning of the twentieth century before being replaced by the Lincoln Cent.
A New American Cent
By the 1850s, the United States Mint was moving away from the large copper cents that had circulated since the nation's early years. In 1857, the Mint introduced a smaller cent made from an alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel.
The first of these smaller cents featured the Flying Eagle design. In 1859, it was replaced by a new design created by United States Mint Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre: the Indian Head Cent.
Liberty Wearing a Native American Headdress
Despite its familiar name, the figure on the obverse is not intended as a portrait of a particular Native American person. The design represents Liberty wearing a feathered Native American headdress.
The word LIBERTY appears across the headband. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the portrait, with the date below.
A popular story developed over the years claiming that Longacre based the figure on his young daughter after she tried on a Native American headdress. The story has become part of American numismatic folklore, but it should not be treated as established historical fact.
The One-Year 1859 Reverse
The first Indian Head Cents of 1859 have a distinctive reverse used for only that year. The denomination ONE CENT appears within a laurel wreath tied at the bottom.
In 1860, the reverse was redesigned. The laurel wreath was replaced by an oak wreath, and a small federal shield was added above it. That basic reverse design remained with the Indian Head Cent through the end of the series.
From Copper-Nickel to Bronze
The Indian Head Cent was produced in two substantially different metallic compositions.
From 1859 into 1864, the coins were made from an alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel. These early cents weighed approximately 4.67 grams and were noticeably thicker and lighter in color than the later bronze coins.
During 1864, the Mint changed the cent to a lighter bronze composition of 95% copper with the remaining 5% consisting of tin and zinc. The bronze cent weighed approximately 3.11 grams.
Because the change occurred during 1864, Indian Head Cents dated that year can be found in both the earlier copper-nickel composition and the later bronze composition.
Indian Head Cent Specifications
| Issue | Composition | Weight | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1859–1864 Copper-Nickel | 88% copper, 12% nickel | Approx. 4.67 g | 19 mm |
| 1864–1909 Bronze | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc | 3.11 g | 19 mm |
Both types have a plain edge. The metallic transition in 1864 makes that year particularly interesting because examples exist from both major composition eras.
More Than Half a Century of American History
The Indian Head Cent circulated during an extraordinary period of American history. The series began shortly before the Civil War and continued through the country's postwar industrial expansion and into the early twentieth century.
Most Indian Head Cents were produced at the Philadelphia Mint. For most of the series, branch mints were not permitted to produce these minor base-metal coins.
That changed near the end of the series. The 1908-S Indian Head Cent became the first Indian Cent struck at the San Francisco Mint, followed by the 1909-S during the final year of the design.
Scarce Dates and the 1909-S
Some dates in the Indian Head Cent series are considerably scarcer than others. The 1877 issue is one of the best-known key dates, while the San Francisco issues of 1908 and 1909 are notable as the only regular Indian Head Cents produced outside Philadelphia.
The 1909-S had a particularly small mintage of 309,000 coins, making it one of the most sought-after regular issues in the series.
The End of the Indian Head Cent
The Indian Head Cent's fifty-year run ended in 1909. That year, the United States Mint introduced the Lincoln Cent to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
The change was historically significant. Lincoln became the first U.S. president portrayed on a regular-issue American coin, beginning a new era of presidential portraits on circulating coinage.
The Indian Head Cent at CoinCrafters
CoinCrafters' Indian Head Cent Coin Necklace begins with a genuine historic U.S. Indian Head Cent.
Rather than reproducing Longacre's design on a modern piece of metal, the original American coin itself becomes part of the finished necklace. Natural differences in date, color, wear and surviving detail mean that each historic coin carries evidence of its own life in circulation.
Sources & Further Reading
This history was prepared using information from the United States Mint and established numismatic references. For additional information, visit the U.S. Mint's history of the American penny and the PCGS Indian Cent reference.