A common Indian Head penny in worn condition is worth roughly $1-3, and that covers most of the coins people find in jars, drawers and old coin purses. Values climb with condition: a nicely detailed common date sells for $5-15, and an uncirculated one with original color can reach $40-100 or more. The real money sits in a short list of key dates, led by the 1877, the 1909-S, the 1908-S, the 1869 and the 1872, which are worth hundreds to thousands even when worn.
Indian Head cents were struck from 1859 to 1909, so every one of them is more than a century old. Age alone does not make them rare, though. The Mint made well over a billion of them, and the later dates from the 1880s to 1907 were produced in the tens of millions each year. Those are the coins that make up most inherited accumulations.
What decides value is the date, whether there is a small S on the reverse, which metal the coin is made of, and how much detail is left on the headdress and the word LIBERTY. All four can be read from two clear photos.
How to read the coin
The date and mint mark
The date sits on the obverse, below the bust. On worn coins the last digit can be faint, and that last digit is often the whole story, since 1877 and 1879 look alike when rubbed down. A straight-on photo in daylight, without flash, usually settles it.
Turn the coin over and look below the wreath, just under the bow. Almost all Indian Head cents were struck in Philadelphia and have no mint mark. Only two dates carry one: the 1908-S and the 1909-S, both from San Francisco. If there is a small S below the wreath, the coin is worth a serious look.
Copper-nickel versus bronze
The first Indian Head cents were made from a copper-nickel alloy. They are thicker, lighter in color and have a slightly pale, tan or yellowish look. In 1864 the Mint switched to a thinner bronze coin, which is the familiar brown penny color.
- 1859: copper-nickel, with a laurel wreath on the reverse and no shield
- 1860 to 1864: copper-nickel, with an oak wreath and a small shield at the top of the reverse
- 1864 to 1909: bronze, the same oak wreath and shield design
Both metals were struck in 1864. A bronze 1864 with a tiny letter L on the ribbon behind the neck, the initial of designer James Longacre, is a scarcer variety worth considerably more than the plain 1864. That L is very small, so a macro shot of the ribbon end is needed.
Copper-nickel cents from 1859 to 1864 are scarcer than most bronze dates and sell for roughly $10-25 in worn condition.
Common dates versus key dates
The common bronze dates run from about 1880 to 1907, with a few exceptions in the earlier years. These are priced almost entirely on condition. The key dates had small mintages or poor survival and carry a premium at every grade.
| Coin | Good (heavily worn) | Fine (LIBERTY readable) | Uncirculated (MS-63 brown) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common date, 1880 to 1907 | $1-3 | $4-8 | $40-80 |
| 1859 copper-nickel | $15-25 | $30-45 | $250-400 |
| 1860 to 1863 copper-nickel | $10-20 | $20-35 | $150-250 |
| 1864 bronze, no L | $15-25 | $45-70 | $100-200 |
| 1864 bronze with L | $60-90 | $180-250 | $400-600 |
| 1866 to 1868 | $40-70 | $100-150 | $300-500 |
| 1869 | $80-140 | $300-450 | $700-1,000 |
| 1870 and 1871 | $60-120 | $250-400 | $600-900 |
| 1872 | $100-150 | $400-550 | $800-1,200 |
| 1877 | $800-1,200 | $1,800-2,800 | $4,500-7,000 |
| 1908-S | $100-130 | $170-230 | $500-800 |
| 1909-S | $500-650 | $750-950 | $1,600-2,500 |
| 1909 Philadelphia | $15-25 | $25-35 | $60-120 |
Full red uncirculated coins, graded RD by PCGS or NGC, sell for several times the brown price. Red and brown coins, marked RB, fall between.
The 1877
The key to the series. Only about 852,500 were struck, during a slow year at the Mint. Even a coin with the date barely readable is worth around a thousand dollars. That price attracts fakes: the most common trick is altering an 1875 or 1879 date, so the shape of the last digit matters. The 7 on a real 1877 is thin and its top bar sits level with the tops of the other numerals.
The 1909-S
San Francisco struck only 309,000 Indian Head cents in 1909 before switching to the new Lincoln design. Look for an S under the wreath that sits cleanly in the field. Added mint marks, glued or soldered onto a Philadelphia 1909, are the usual fake.
The 1908-S
The first Indian Head cent struck outside Philadelphia, with about 1.1 million made. It is scarce but not extreme, which makes it the most attainable of the two S-mint coins.
The 1869 and 1872
Both are early bronze dates with low survival in nice condition. The 1872 is generally the scarcer of the two, and both are often found with corrosion or dark, rough surfaces that cut value. An 1869 with a repunched 9, sometimes listed as 1869/69, carries an extra premium.
Condition and the word LIBERTY
The headband across the Indian's forehead carries the word LIBERTY. It is the first part of the design to wear down, and collectors use it as a quick grade check:
- Good: the outline is there, LIBERTY is mostly or completely worn away
- Very Good: at least three letters of LIBERTY show
- Fine: all seven letters show, and the coin has full LIBERTY
- Extremely Fine: LIBERTY is sharp, and the feather tips and diamonds on the ribbon show detail
- Uncirculated: no wear at all, with original mint luster
A coin with full LIBERTY is usually worth two to four times a coin where it is gone. For key dates, that jump is worth hundreds of dollars.
Color matters for higher grades. Fresh bronze is bright orange red, and it slowly mellows to brown. Collectors pay heavily for original red, and they pay very little for coins that have been cleaned to look red. A cleaned penny has a flat, pinkish or overly bright surface with fine scratches. It sells at a deep discount compared with an original brown coin. Never clean an Indian Head cent, even a dark one.
Corrosion, green spots, holes, bends and heavy scratches also reduce value. A common date with damage is worth roughly 25 to 75 cents. A key date with damage still sells, but well below the table above.
Should you get it graded?
For common dates, no. The grading fee is more than the coin gains. For any 1877, 1909-S, 1908-S, 1869, 1872 or 1864 L, and for any uncirculated coin that still shows red color, grading by PCGS or NGC is worth the cost. Graded key dates sell faster and for more, because buyers do not have to judge the authenticity themselves.
Counterfeit slabs exist for the 1877 and 1909-S. If a coin arrives in a holder, look up the serial number on the grader's website and compare the photo.
Photos that settle it
- The obverse, straight on, in daylight, with the date in sharp focus
- A close shot of the headband showing how many letters of LIBERTY remain
- The reverse, straight on, with the area below the wreath bow in focus
- A close shot of the last digit of the date on suspected 1877 and 1872 coins
- The ribbon end behind the neck on any 1864, to check for the L
If the jar also holds later pennies, the wheat penny guide covers the 1909 to 1958 Lincoln cents, and the inherited coins guide explains how to sort a mixed pile quickly.