The Indian Head Cent was the second design issued for the small cent. The coin was designed by James B. Longacre and features an image of Liberty in a Native American headdress on the obverse, which lends itself to the series name. The reverse of the coin first featured a laurel wreath, which was replaced with an oak wreath and shield after only one year.
The series was produced from 1859 to 1909 with a few design modifications. The composition of the Indian Head Cent began as 88% copper and 12% nickel. This proved difficult to strike and the composition was changed to 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc during 1864. During this year, pieces were struck in both the copper and nickel composition and a bronze composition.
Indian Head Cent Notes:
- There were 54 regular issues for the series. This includes the two compositions used during 1864 and the pieces minted at the San Francisco Mint for the final two years of the series.
- The series had a duration of 50 years from 1859 to 1909. Coins were issued for every year inclusive at the Philadelphia Mint and for the final two years at the San Francisco Mint.
- The highest reported mintage is for the 1907 Indian Head Cent with 108,138,618 pieces. This was also the only issue of the series with a mintage above 100 million.
- The lowest reported mintage is for the 1909-S Indian Head Cent with 309,000 pieces reported struck. Along with the 1877 Indian Head Cent, this is one of only two issues of the series with a mintage below 1 million.
- The average mintage across all 54 regular issues of the series is 34,252,575, and the total mintage is 1,849,639,030.
Indian Head Cent Mintages:
| Issue | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 36,400,000 |
| 1859 Proof | 800 |
| 1860 | 20,566,000 |
| 1860 Proof | 1,000 |
| 1861 | 10,100,000 |
| 1861 Proof | 1,000 |
| 1862 | 28,075,000 |
| 1862 Proof | 1,500-2,000 |
| 1863 | 49,840,000 |
| 1863 Proof | 800-1,000 |
| 1864 (Copper) | 13,740,000 |
| 1864 Proof (Copper) | 800-1,000 |
| 1864 (Bronze) | 39,233,714 |
| 1864 Proof No L (Bronze) | 150+ |
| 1864 Proof With L (Bronze) | 20+ |
| 1865 | 35,429,286 |
| 1865 Proof | 750-1,000 |
| 1866 | 9,826,500 |
| 1866 Proof | 725-1,000 |
| 1867 | 9,821,000 |
| 1867 Proof | 850-1,000 |
| 1868 | 10,266,500 |
| 1868 Proof | 750-1,000 |
| 1869 | 6,420,000 |
| 1869 Proof | 850-1,000 |
| 1870 | 5,275,000 |
| 1870 Proof | 1,000+ |
| 1871 | 3,929,500 |
| 1871 Proof | 960+ |
| 1872 | 4,042,000 |
| 1872 Proof | 850-1,100 |
| 1873 | 11,676,500 |
| 1873 Proof Close 3 | 1,500-2,000 |
| 1874 | 14,187,500 |
| 1874 Proof | 1,000-1,200 |
| 1875 | 13,528,000 |
| 1875 Proof | 1,000-1,250 |
| 1876 | 7,944,000 |
| 1876 Proof | 1,500-2,000 |
| 1877 | 852,500 |
| 1877 Proof | 1,250-1,500 |
| 1878 | 5,799,850 |
| 1878 Proof | 2,350 |
| 1879 | 16,231,200 |
| 1879 Proof | 3,200 |
| 1880 | 38,964,955 |
| 1880 Proof | 3,955 |
| 1881 | 39,211,575 |
| 1881 Proof | 3,575 |
| 1882 | 38,581,100 |
| 1882 Proof | 3,100 |
| 1883 | 45,589,109 |
| 1883 Proof | 6,609 |
Indian Head Cent Mintages Continued:
| Issue | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1884 | 23,261,742 |
| 1884 Proof | 3,942 |
| 1885 | 11,765,384 |
| 1885 Proof | 3,790 |
| 1886 | 17,654,290 |
| 1886 Proof | 4,290 |
| 1887 | 45,226,483 |
| 1887 Proof | 2,960 |
| 1888 | 37,494,414 |
| 1888 Proof | 4,582 |
| 1889 | 48,869,361 |
| 1889 Proof | 3,336 |
| 1890 | 57,182,854 |
| 1890 Proof | 2,740 |
| 1891 | 47,072,350 |
| 1891 Proof | 2,350 |
| 1892 | 37,649,832 |
| 1892 Proof | 2,745 |
| 1893 | 46,642,195 |
| 1893 Proof | 2,195 |
| 1894 | 16,752,132 |
| 1894 Proof | 2,632 |
| 1895 | 38,343,636 |
| 1895 Proof | 2,062 |
| 1896 | 39,057,293 |
| 1896 Proof | 1,862 |
| 1897 | 50,466,330 |
| 1897 Proof | 1,938 |
| 1898 | 49,823,079 |
| 1898 Proof | 1,795 |
| 1899 | 53,600,031 |
| 1899 Proof | 2,031 |
| 1900 | 66,833,794 |
| 1900 Proof | 2,262 |
| 1901 | 79,611,143 |
| 1901 Proof | 1,985 |
| 1902 | 87,376,722 |
| 1902 Proof | 2,018 |
| 1903 | 85,094,493 |
| 1903 Proof | 1,790 |
| 1904 | 61,328,015 |
| 1904 Proof | 1,817 |
| 1905 | 80,719,163 |
| 1905 Proof | 2,152 |
| 1906 | 96,022,255 |
| 1906 Proof | 1,725 |
| 1907 | 108,138,618 |
| 1907 Proof | 1,475 |
| 1908 | 32,327,987 |
| 1908 Proof | 1,620 |
| 1908-S | 1,115,000 |
| 1909 | 14,370,645 |
| 1909 Proof | 2,175 |
| 1909-S | 309,000 |
