Specifications

Denomination: 1 cent
Series: Indian Head Cent
Designer: James Barton Longacre
Engraver: James Barton Longacre
Years of issue: 1859–1909
Weight: 3.11 g
Diameter: 19 mm
Edge: Plain
KM: KM-90 / KM-90a

Public domain; Smithsonian National Numismatic Collection specimen photo by Jaclyn Nash (via Godot13). 1860 Indian Head cent, shown as a type example.

Longacre's feathered Liberty bridged the Civil War — copper-nickel 'white cents' giving way to bronze, and one of the hobby's most beloved key dates.

History

Designed by Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre, issued 1859–1909 (patterns dated 1858); it replaced the short-lived Flying Eagle cent and carried U.S. small cents through the Civil War (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
The obverse shows Liberty wearing a Native American feathered headdress — not a portrait of an actual Native American; Longacre reportedly modeled the features on his daughter Sarah (scvhistory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
The 1859 issue was a thick 4.67 g copper-nickel ‘white cent’ (88% copper, 12% nickel); the 1860 reverse added a small shield above the wreath that remained for the rest of the series (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Mid-1864 the alloy changed to bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) at 3.11 g, the standard that held until 1982; both compositions exist dated 1864, and late-1864 bronze dies added Longacre’s ‘L’ initial on the ribbon — the pointed-bust 1864-L variety (Numismatic News / PCGS CoinFacts, accessed 2026-09-16).
San Francisco struck its first cents in 1908 (1,115,000+ mintage) and added 309,000 Indian cents in 1909, the series’ final year and the Lincoln cent’s first (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
In 1907 Mint production topped 108 million cents, the first time the 100-million mark was passed (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
The 1877’s mystique is so deep that it appeared on a 1977 U.S. postage stamp commemorating the centennial of its issue (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).

Key dates and varieties

1877 — mintage 852,500, the series key despite not being the lowest mintage; poor survival in high grades because Depression-era collecting habits hadn’t started (Stack’s Bowers / Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
1909-S — mintage 309,000, the lowest mintage of any regular-issue U.S. cent since 1811; better availability in high grade than the 1877 because it was heavily saved (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
1864-L (bronze, pointed bust) — Longacre’s initial added late in the transition year; a distinct major variety (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
1871 and 1872 — early-1870s low-mintage dates, scarce in Mint State since collectors of the era bought proofs instead (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
1869/9 overdate — a famous overdate variety, scarce in all grades (scvhistory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
1908-S — the first branch-mint cent, just over 1 million struck; historic as San Francisco’s debut cent (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).

Specifications

Weight: 4.67 g (1859–1864 copper-nickel); 3.11 g (1864–1909 bronze) (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Composition: 88% copper, 12% nickel (1859–1864); 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (1864–1909) (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Diameter: 19.05 mm; edge: plain (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Designer: James Barton Longacre (obverse and reverse) (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Mintmark: S below the wreath on the reverse (1908–1909 only); Philadelphia coins carry none (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).

Collector notes

Grading quirk: copper-nickel 1859–1864 cents have a pale ‘white’ look and strike poorly; don’t judge them by bronze-cent color standards (scvhistory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
Authentication: the 1877 and 1909-S are heavily counterfeited; also watch altered dates (e.g., 1877 made from 1870s dates) — certification is cheap insurance (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
For the 1864-L, a pointed bust identifies the variety even when the L itself is worn off the ribbon (qualitycollectiblecoins.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
Early-1870s business strikes are genuinely rare in Mint State because era collectors bought proofs; a proof from those years can cost less than an MS example (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
Market guidance: the series was completable from circulation into the 1930s, so worn common dates are plentiful — pay for originality and color on bronze examples, not just grade (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).