1859 Indian Head Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 36,400,000 made
- Mintage
- 36,400,000
- Metal
- 88% copper, 12% nickel
- Weight
- 4.67 g
- Diameter
- 19 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1859 Indian Head Cent worth?
Age alone gives this coin a small premium, even worn. Sharp details and original surfaces push it higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1859 Indian Head Cent rare?
- Not by date: 36 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1859 Indian Head Cent?
- No mint mark. Philadelphia struck every Indian cent until 1908.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1859 are scarcer?
- The 1861 at 10,100,000, the 1864, Copper-Nickel at 13,740,000, the 1860 at 20,566,000, plus 1 more. So the 1859 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1859 Indian Head Cent coins were made?
- 36,400,000.
What to check on your 1859
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1859 Indian Head Cent Proof (800 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. In Very Fine, all five letters of LIBERTY on the headband are visible; collectors also look at the feather tips and the "diamonds" on the ribbon. Color is graded too: Red (RD), Red-Brown (RB) and Brown (BN).
The story of the 1859
1859 was the first year of the Indian Head Cent. Philadelphia struck 36,400,000 of them. In 1860 the figure was 21 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1859 you find is from Philadelphia.
Across Philadelphia's 52 Indian Head Cent issues, the hardest to find is the 1877 with 852,500 made. The 1859 is on the scarcer side of the middle.
It also marks a change of metal: 1859 is the first year of the Indian Head Cent in 88% copper, 12% nickel, which lasted until 1864.
Copper-nickel years and the Civil War (1859 to 1863)
James Longacre's Indian Head replaced the Flying Eagle in 1859 because the new portrait struck up more fully. The 1859 is a one year type with a laurel wreath reverse. The Mint made 36.4 million. In 1860 the Mint switched to an oak wreath with a small shield at the top, the reverse used for the rest of the series.
The Civil War changed everything. By 1862 people were hoarding all coins, including these copper-nickel cents. Private merchants issued millions of lighter Civil War tokens to fill the gap. Mint output rose to meet demand, with 28 million cents in 1862 and nearly 50 million in 1863. Copper-nickel Indian cents are thick and pale tan in color. The hard metal often left weak feather tips and diamonds on the ribbon. They wear evenly and many survive in Fine to Extremely Fine.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1859
The Indian Head cent replaced the Flying Eagle cent in 1859. Its first-year reverse showed a laurel wreath, replaced by an oak wreath and shield the next year.
How to recognize it
Liberty wears a feathered headdress with LIBERTY on the band, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the date below. The 1859 reverse is a laurel wreath around ONE CENT; from 1860 an oak wreath with a small shield at the top was used. Coins from 1864 on are bronze and from partway through 1864 they show the designer's initial L on the ribbon behind Liberty's neck. Mint marks (only S, 1908 and 1909) are below the wreath on the reverse.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Indian Head Cent (1859–1909) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 36,400,000 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 88% copper, 12% nickel |
| Weight | 4.67 grams |
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Other 1859 Indian Head Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1859 Indian Head Cent | 36,400,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1859 Indian Head Cent Proof | 800 | Proof | – |
Mintage: United States cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.