Indian Head Bronze Cents 1864-1909

The shots at Fort Sumter that launched the Civil War didn't enclose out pending April 12, 1861, but preparations for war were under way well before that-plus financial preparations. Expecting the conflict, edgy Americans on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line began sign gold and silver

coins. The stride of this activity accelerated following the choice of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in November of 1860, for he was perceived as a hard-line Unionist suspect to compromise with southern politicians. It reached fever pitch after Dec. 28, 1861, when New York banks suspended specie payments in reponse to the issuance of national paper money which was not redeemable in coin. By the summer of 1862, precious-metal coins all but disappeared from circulation.

Not being made of precious metal, cents sustained to circulate for a few months longer. In verity, it seemed inconceivable the Americans would pile cents. The large, intrinsically effective copper cents used since the inception of the realm's change were replaced in 1857 by the slighter copper-nickel Flying Eagle cents-fiat issues, merit minus as metal than, as money. That was curious in the mid-19th century; most U. S. Coins had high intrinsic appraise, and Americans had come to assume and even insist this in their penny. Nonetheless, the broadcast had welcomed the large cents' demise, considering the coins too cumbersome for usual use.

The new small cents-known as "colorless cents" because of their pale incline-became even more accepted in 1859 when, due to striking problems, the Mint replaced the creative Flying Eagle affect with a new one depicting a female clothed in a feathered Indian crown. This "Indian Head" portrait, not a native American profile but apparently modeled after the Greco-Roman model Venus Accroupie, had widespread urge, reinforcing the acceptance the colorless cents already enjoyed because of their versatile dimension.

Production levels were high-far superior to those of the large cents they replaced-and it was common education that the metal in each coin was worth excluding than one cent. Nevertheless the Civil War shattered many accepted beliefs, counting the perception that small-limit, low-assess cents were immune from notice.

Initially, bags of cents served as one of the central means of payment for anxious merchants deprived of silver coins. Before long, however, the cents too became a target for hoarders. They were, after all, government-release coins, and as such were preferable to the all-but-irredeemable "shinplasters" (scrip and wildcat pile comments) being generally presented. Furthermore, the worth of nickel-fueled by wartime pressure-was rising promptly, giving these nickel-alloy coins bigger intrinsic cost. By December 1862, cents had coupled gold and silver coins on the step.

That was when need gave birth to invention-not by Uncle Sam but by secretive entrepreneurs. To stuff the vacuum left by the departure of federal money, merchants and promoters began producing cent-sized model tokens, normally effect an oblique or even exact potential of redemption in cargo, navy or money. These "Civil War tokens" gained broad acceptance as a money substitute. Mint officials were duly impressed, and in 1864 they reshaped the cent in these tokens' aura, replacing the copper-nickel "ashen cent" with a slimmed-down rendering made of figurine.

Besides being darker in paint, the new cent was one-third lighter in substance. Its diameter was unchanged, however, and it still bore the same Indian Head face model and unadorned circlet and shelter transpose fashioned for its predecessor by the Mint's chief engraver, James B. Longacre. The new coin's components were less expensive than nickel, and this mutual with its sink emphasis made it much cheaper to fabricate. It was also easier to reach, as figure is much softer than nickel. And like the tokens it successfully replaced, it enjoyed ready acceptance from the municipal, effectively finale the dearth of cents in circulation.

Both kinds of cents were issued in 1864, with the sculpture outnumbering the copper nickel by about 3-to-1. Despite its higher mintage, the image cent provided the year's scarcest class: one on which Longacre's first "L" appears on the ribbon of the Indian's boater. The designer didn't add this until recent in the year, so relatively few 1864 cents have it. Apparently, a large mass of these "L" cents went to England, for many pieces were improved from there in the 1950s and 60s.

Bronze Indian cents remained in production lacking interruption for near half a century before giving way to the Abraham Lincoln kind in 1909. The invent remained the same for the intact run except for instant changes in 1886, when the then chief engraver, Charles Barber, faintly lowered the relief and made a small change in the stand of the bust. For all but the last two time, Indian Heads were struck only at the chief mint in Philadelphia; in 1908 and 1909, the San Francisco office struck cents, the period in very limited quantities. On these, the "S" mint show appears below the garland on the switch.

Total mintage for the string reached almost 1.6 billion, along with 96,848 proofs. Annual production topped 100 million only once, in 1907, and sank below one million for just two issues: 1877 and 1909-S. At 309,000 pieces, 1909-S has the lowly mintage, but the 1877-at 852,500-is more valuable, because fewer examples were set departure. Other scarce issues include the 1869 with a doubled 9, 1872 and 1908-S. Proofs were struck every year, usually in the thousands, except for the prior days which saw mintages under 1,000. The 1864 coins had the minimum testimony mintages: 150 for the no "L" form and only 20 for the with "L" coin, making it a major scarcity. Counterfeits subsist, particularly of coins dated 1877 and 1909-S, and to a smaller extent, the 1864 "L," the 1866 to 1878 issues and 1908-S. Questionable pieces should always be authenticated.

When grading Indian Head cents, the first chairs to show bear on the obverse will be the locks above the ear and the twist to the right of the ribbon; on the annul, bill the bow tether.

Mint asserted examples survive in substantial quantities in grades up to MS-65, but their population drops sharply in MS-66 and above. Fully red coins, of course, are rarer still. Although the chain is relatively long, it encompasses just 51 pieces-even plus 1864 L, 1869/9 and the Open 3 and Closed 3 cents of 1873-because there are only two twig-mint issues. Given this fact and the limited number of high-priced rarities, many collectors assemble undivided date-and-mint sets. The chain relics one of the most accepted of all United States issues.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Diameter: 19 millimeters Weight: 3.11 grams Composition: .950 copper.050 tin and zinc Edge: Plain

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, A Buyer's and Enthusiast's Guide to Fly Eagle and Indian Cents, Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1996. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Snow, Richard, Flying Eagle & Indian Cents, Eagle Eye Press, 1992. Steve, Larry R. & Flynn, Kevin J. Flying Eagle and Indian Cent Die Varieties, Nuvista Press, Jarrettsville, MD, 1995. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co. Inc., New York, 1966. Vermeule, Cornelius, Numismatic Art in America, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971.

Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.