Indian Head USA one cent (penny) values, pg 2 (1873 to 1890) Indian Head USA one cent (penny) values, pg 3 (1891 to 1909) Indian Head USA one cent (penny) values, pg 3 (1891 to 1909) Australian coin and banknote values New Zealand predecimal coin values UK coin values - 1801 to 1967 United States coin values - 1792 to present All Coin Values. How much are my U.S. 1906 with red surfaces penny worth? About 1906 RD Indian Cents. The 1906 Indian Cent is a common issue in the Indian Cent Series that would make the ideal type coin because of its high mintage (nearly 100 million), accessibility and affordability.
In 1859, Chief Mint Engraver James B. Longacre's Indian Head Small Cent design replaced the Flying Eagle cent. The obverse of the Indian Head Small Cent depicts the bust of Lady Liberty wearing an Indian headdress. Within the band of the headdress is the inscription 'LIBERTY'. She is surrounded by the legend 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' and the date appears below. In the 1700's, Indian women were commonly used as symbols for America. The reverse of the 1859 Indian Head Small Cent featured the words 'ONE CENT' wrapped within a laurel wreath. From 1860 to 1909, the reverse of the coin featured the words ONE CENT wrapped within a wreath of oak and olive, tied at the base with a ribbon, with a Federal shield above.
With the exception of minor design changes in 1860 and 1886 there are no major varieties of the Indian Head Cent.
After only one year in production, Mint Director James Snowden replaced the previous laurel wreath reverse design with an oak wreath and shield design. It is suspected that the change was a result of growing tension between the Northern States and the Southern states, which were threatening secession from the Union. The placement of the Union shield may have been meant to remind the rebellious states that they were part of the Union. This new type is known as the Indian Head, Copper Nickel, Oak Wreath with Shield Small Cent.
During the Civil War, copper, nickel small cents, gold and silver virtually disappeared from circulation. The void left by the missing cents was filled by the creation of thousands of privately issued Civil War tokens. In 1864 the federal government intervened by banning the issuance of private merchant tokens. In that same year, the Indian Head, Copper Nickel, Oak Wreath with Shield was replaced by the Indian Head, Bronze.
With the exception of minor design changes in 1860 and 1886 there are no major varieties of the Indian Head Cent.
After only one year in production, Mint Director James Snowden replaced the previous laurel wreath reverse design with an oak wreath and shield design. It is suspected that the change was a result of growing tension between the Northern States and the Southern states, which were threatening secession from the Union. The placement of the Union shield may have been meant to remind the rebellious states that they were part of the Union. This new type is known as the Indian Head, Copper Nickel, Oak Wreath with Shield Small Cent.
During the Civil War, copper, nickel small cents, gold and silver virtually disappeared from circulation. The void left by the missing cents was filled by the creation of thousands of privately issued Civil War tokens. In 1864 the federal government intervened by banning the issuance of private merchant tokens. In that same year, the Indian Head, Copper Nickel, Oak Wreath with Shield was replaced by the Indian Head, Bronze.
1906 Indian Head Penny Value Chart
Indian Head Cent
Longacre substitutes Indian Head designs for Flying Eagle By Paul Gilkes
COIN WORLD Staff Difficulty in modifying the Flying Eagle cent design to correct the problem of short die life and poor strikeability led Chief En...READ MORE
Indian Head Cent
Longacre substitutes Indian Head designs for Flying Eagle By Paul GilkesCOIN WORLD Staff Difficulty in modifying the Flying Eagle cent design to correct the problem of short die life and poor strikeability led Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre to abandon the eagle motif in favor of his new Indian Head design in 1859. The head and tail of the eagle on the obverse of the copper-nickel Flying Eagle cent were positioned directly opposite the wreath on the reverse, creating weakness in the detail of the design with every strike. The chief engraver had been in his position for more than a dozen years when he was given the assignment to fix the existing cent design or produce a new one. At the same time Longacre produced the Indian Head obverse, three new reverse designs were also tested. One alternative included a plain oak wreath. The second choice depicted an oak wreath with a wide ornamented shield above. A third selection offered two versions of a plain laurel wreath. One of the latter two variations – the centered laurel wreath with low relief – was paired with the obverse Indian Head design to strike the first coins for circulation in 1859. The hub style was changed from narrow bust point in 1860 to a broad bust point, possibly to increase die life. A new reverse was introduced in 1860 as well, depicting a shield between the points of a new, oak wreath. A year before the Civil War ended, Congress took action to alter the composition of the small cents since the nickel coinage metal was in short supply and it was costing the Mint more than the face value to produce the coins. The Mint Act of April 22, 1864, amended the Act of Feb. 21, 1857, by changing the composition of the small cent from the 88 percent copper, 12 percent nickel – established with the Flying Eagle cent and the first nearly six years of Indian Head cent production – to a bronze alloy of 95 percent copper, 5 percent tin and zinc. This bronze alloy would remain constant throughout the rest of the Indian Head cent series, which closed its run in 1909. Along with the 2-cent coin, the bronze Indian Head cents marked the first token coinage of the United States, being valued only by the government stamp, not the metal content. The bronze Indian Head cent was released in July 1864. Its production proved profitable to the federal government, as 3.7 bronze cents could be reproduced from every recoined copper large cent. During the Civil War, large numbers of cents were hoarded, then later dumped into circulation, causing a glut. In 1871, this coinage saturation was alleviated when legislation called for the redemption and recoinage of all earlier minor coins, allowing financial institutions to redeem larger amounts of coins. Enough copper was redeemed to keep the Mint going for six years. In 1873, the country's economic woes plunged the nation's populace to again flood commerce with hoard coins as they could no longer afford to accumulate them. The new infusion of coins created rarities of the 1870, 1871 and 1872 dates, causing larger than usual mintages for the 1874 and 1875 cents. The Mint's self-imposed stance to combat high planchets prices by not buying them certain years resulted in lower production in 1885, 1886 and 1894. The Mint began making its own cent planchets in 1908. Indian Head cents were all struck at the Philadelphia Mint, except in 1908 and 1909, when examples were also struck at the San Francisco Mint. Mintage was low for the 1908-S issues since the San Francisco Mint, rocked by the Great Earthquake two years earlier, had only one press available to produce cents.
1905 Indian Head Penny Value
Indian Head cent | |
| Date of authorization: | Feb. 21, 1857 |
| Dates of issue: | 1859-1909 |
| Designer/Engraver: | James B. Longacre |
| Diameter: | 1859-1864: 19.30 mm/0.76 inch 1864-1909: 19.05 mm/0.75 inch |
| Weight: | 1859-1864: 4.67 grams/0.15 ounce 1864-1909: 3.11 grams/0.10 ounce |
| Metallic content: | 1859-1864: 88% copper, 12% nickel 1864-1909: 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc |
| Edge: | Plain |
| Mint mark: | 1908-1909, reverse under wreath |
Indian Head Cent
1906 Gold Indian Head Penny Value
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1906 Indian Head Penny Value Chart
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