Indian Head Penny

Look carefully at the coin above. It is the design that was made one year only -- 1859. There were major changes in the design made the very next year.

The second year the Indian Head Cent was in production there were changes made in the design. With a few minor changes, this is the design that would be used for the remaining forty nine years the coin would be produced.

Oak Leaves replaced he Olive Leaves of he 1859 cent. There was a Shield added to the top of the design. Arrows were added at the bottom. There were even some minor changes in the lettering and spacing.

If you think about what was happening at the time there may be some political significance to the design changes. Slavery was a big issue, with the possibility of secession of the Southern states being raised. The shield is that of the Union...indicating a single country. The arrows and oak leave are both traditionally looked at as symbols that a nation is prepared for war.

Well, they're both United States coins. They were both in curculation during the Twentieth Century (though not at the same time). They both depict Native Americans. But there is something else which links the two coins. Can you figure out what the connection might be?

I was at a coin show recently and started talking about an Indian Head Penny collection. The dealer became almost livid that I used an improper term to refer to a United States coin.
The United States does not have a true Penny. The Penny is a coin which exists primarily in countries which were colonies of Great Britain, and Great Britian itself. Its plural is "Pence" when you are talking about the amount of money, but "Pennies" when you are talking about multiple coins. It was usually the lowest denomination of coin available, although you will find half pennies.
The United States did not mint "Pennies," it minted "Cents" The habit of referring to the lowest denomination coin as a "Penny" stuck with people, and the word came into common usage.
So technically, they are Indian Head Cents, although you will hear people call them "Indian Head Pennies."

One of the best things that you can do as a collector is organize your coins, and a Whitman folder is a great way to start. Whitman Coin Folder. Using a folder does several things.
1. The Whitman Indian Head Cents Folder (click here for more information) has a place for one of each type of coin. It allows you to see at a glance what coins you have, and what coins are still missing from your collection.
2. The fact that the coins are well organized makes an attractive display, gives you a sense of pride in the collection.
3. Protection for your coins! Each coin is held firmly in place, so that coin will not rub against coin. No scratches will occur to coin firmly placed in a folder like this, since the coins never come into contact with one another!

The Indian Head Cent was minted exclusively in Philadelphia from 1859 through 1907. At that time the Philadelphia mint didy not place mint marks on coins they made. But in 1908 and 1909 the San Francisco mint also began striking Indian Head Cents. They placed their "S" on the reverse of the coin beneath the wreath.

Typically, United States coinage carries some sort of tribute to the designer of the coin in the form of his initial somewhere in the design. When the Indian Cent was first minted in 1858, there was nothing indicating that James Barton Longacre was the designer.

In 1864 there was a major change in the Indian Cent. The alloy used to produce it was changed to 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, and the weight of the coins was reduced from 72 grains to 48 grains. The design was sharpened, and Longacre added an L just to the left of the bottom feather in the headdress.

The Indian on the Obverse of the Indian Cent wears a ribbon bearing the word "Liberty." If you look carefully you will see that on the tail of the ribbon are four diamonds. These diamonds are one of the areas on the Indian Head Cent that are most susceptible to wear. High quality Indian Heads are sometimes referred to based on the number of clearly visible diamonds, the higher the number the better the coin. So you will hear collectors refer to a "two diamond," a "three diamond," or preferably a "four diamond" Indian Head Cent, like the one in the picture.

James Barton Longacre (1794 - 1869) was the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 until his death. Longacre is probably best known for designing the Indian Head Cent, but was also responsible for the designs of numerous coins including the Shield Nickel, Flying Eagle cent, Two-Cent piece, silver and nickel three-cent pieces, One dollar gold, a $3 gold piece, and the first $20 or double eagle (several of which are pictured above).