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.

To this day, the Indian Cent remains one of the most popular series in all of numismatics.

(aka Indian Head Cents, or IHCs)

Very Fine 20
Very Fine 30
Extremely Fine 40
Extremely Fine 45
Almost Uncirculated 50
Almost Uncirculated 55
Mint State 60
Mint State 63 Red-Brown
Mint State 64 Brown
Mint State 65 Red-Brown
Mint State 66+ Red-Brown
Proof 63 Cameo
Proof 64 Red
Proof 65 Red-Brown
Proof 66 Red

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.

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