About Indian Cents
aka (Indian Head Cents, or IHCs)
By 1858 the Mint staff felt the Flying Eagle design caused production difficulties as die life was very low compared to the previous Large Cent. Die life is one of the most important factors in running a high-production minting operation.


An example of an 1877 (key date) Indian Cent. Almost / About Uncirculated 50.
This was a result a result of metallurgical fatigue failure or cracking resulting in die breakage (known to collectors as “cuds”). Most of the die breakage occurred on the reverse dies. The reverse die for Flying Eagle cents was the hammer die, and was more susceptible to metal fatigue. Some examples of die breaks on the reverse side of Flying Eagles are shown here.
However the true cause of premature die life was the introduction of nickel into a copper-based alloy, increasing the hardness of the composition. In addition, data suggests the Mint did not anneal the cent planchets prior to striking. Annealing is a softening operation and is commonly used in planchet-making.
In 1859 James B. Longacre designed a motif with an Indian with a Princess headdress and Mint Director James Ross Snowden quickly approved and chose a laurel wreath for the reverse. The laurel wreath was replaced in 1860 by an oak wreath with a shield. They were immediately accepted by an enthusiastic public for use in commerce.
But large quantities of cents were hoarded during the economic chaos of the American Civil War, when nickel was in short supply. As Mint officials saw that privately issued bronze tokens (“Civil War Tokens”) were circulating with commercial acceptance Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing a slimmer cent of bronze alloy, weighing 3.1 grams. Nickel was removed from the alloy and the new composition was 95% copper- 2.5% zinc – 2.5% tin.
In the post-Civil war period, the cent became very popular and was struck in large numbers in most years. An exception was 1877, when a struggling economy and little demand for cents created one of the key date in the series. With the advent of coin-operated machines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, even more cents were produced, with mintage reaching 100 million for the first time in 1907. In 1909, the Indian Head cent was replaced by the Lincoln cent, designed by Victor D. Brenner.
To this day, the Indian Cent remains one of the most popular series in all of numismatics.
Grading Indian Cents
(aka Indian Head Cents, or IHCs)
Circulated Indian Cents
Uncirculated (Mint State) Indian Cents
If you would enjoy learning more about the Flying Eagle, Indian Cent and other James B Longacre designs, as well as the history of their times please consider joining the Fly-In Club.