The Indian Head one cent coin was produced by the United States Mint from 1859 to 1909. It was designed by James Barton Longacre, the engraver at the Philadelphia Mint. The L is his initial and appears on the ribbon back of the head. Two major versions of the Indian penny were made over the years - Flying Eagle Type 1857 to1858 and Indian Head 1859 to 1909.

The obverse of the coin shows "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", the head of a Native American wearing a feather head dress, and the year of production. The word "LIBERTY" appears on the band of the head dress. Though not mentioned in the Treasury's modern-day records, the use of "LIBERTY" on the head dress at that time meant the figure was Liberty depicted as a Native American; nearly all regular coins at that time depicted Liberty.

The coin's reverse side shows "ONE CENT" within an oak wreath (a laurel wreath before 1860), with three arrows inserted under the ribbon that binds the two branches of the wreath. Between the ends of the branches is the shield of the United States (which was not in the original design and did not appear on the coin until 1860).

Mintmarks The mintmark is located below the wreath on the 1908 and 1909. Mintmarks include:

* None Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* S (San Francisco Mint in San Francisco, California)

The coins struck between 1859 and 1864 contained 88% copper and 12% nickel, as required by law. In 1864, the alloy changed to 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, and the weight of the coins was reduced from 72 grains to 48 grains.

SPECIFICATIONS: Diameter: 19 millimeters Weight: 3.11 grams Composition: .950 copper, .050 tin and zinc Edge: Plain
(Information gathered from - Wikipedia.org, Coin Resource.org, "The Red Book - A Guide Book of United States Coins", and other sources)

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