Indian Head Cents Description

Definition

• Indian Head cents are pennies created by the United States government for 50 years, from 1859 to 1909. They feature a Native American woman in eagle headdress on the front side, and a circle of leaves with the words "ONE CENT" stamped in the center on the reverse side. While popular rumor claims the designer of the Indian Head cent used his daughter as a model for the Indian head, there is no proof to substantiate the claim. Whatever model was used, it is most likely the figure is intended to represent the head of the statue of liberty wearing a headdress. Liberty in various positions, from sitting to walking, was an extremely popular design for American coins of that period.

Characteristics

• Indian Head pennies are the only pennies created in the Indian head design. They replaced the Flying Eagle design and were in turn replaced by the Lincoln Head penny. Most coins were minted in Philadelphia and don't have a mint mark, though a small quantity were minted at the San Francisco mint and bear the "S" insignia.

History

• James Barton Longacre designed and engraved the Indian Head penny, under instructions from mint director James Snowden in Philadelphia. Snowden submitted the designs to treasury secretary Howard Cobb, along with a request to change the design of the penny. The design was accepted, although the coin was minted for five years before a small "L" was added into the engraving to give credit to the designer.

Composition

• Originally, Indian Head pennies were made of 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, which was the legal requirement for American pennies at that time. After five years, the weight of the penny was lessened, and the composition changed to 95 percent copper with the other 5 percent being a mix of tin and zinc added for stability.

Reverse Designs

• The wreath design on the reverse side of the Indian Head penny also went through a change. Originally, it was designed as a laurel wreath, tied with a ribbon at the bottom and reaching up with two branches that nearly touched at the top of the coin. This design was used for only one year before Longacre replaced it with an oak and olive wreath that reached up to a small federal shield at the top of the penny, including a bundle of arrows tied into the ribbon below. This new design was used for the life of the coin.