The coin has Lady Liberty on the obverse, while the oak wreath and the inscription ONE CENT are on the reverse side. James Barton Longacre, the fourth Chief Engraver of the US Mint, created the 1859 Indian head penny design. The Philadelphia mint produced precisely 49,823,079 1989 Indian head pennies this particular year, including 1,795 proof coins. The 1898 Indian head penny is the same size as all the other coins from this series, with 0.1 troy ounces (3.11 grams) weight and 0.75 inches (19 mm) in diameter. In rare cases where the collector needs only one coin to complete the series, the 1898 Indian head penny can actually cost a small fortune. However, only a few remained in perfect condition, and dedicated numismatists are ready to search for years for a well-preserved penny and to pay it dearly. 1898 Indian head pennyīy the end of the year, this penny mintage came close to 50 million coins. Plus, the US Congress declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898.

The Civil war ended more than 30 years ago, and society and the economy were recovering.

Since people were using them daily, there were not many coins in a mint state.ġ898 Indian head penny is not rare thanks to the historic moment. It contained 88% copper and 12% nickel until the Philadelphia mint changed its composition to 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. The average mintage for the Indian head pennies was 34,252,575 a year. The San Francisco mint also made Indian head pennies, but only in the last two years of the series, 19. The Philadelphia mint produced Indian head pennies from 1859 to 1909, when it began to mint new Lincoln pennies. 1898 is not a rare date in the series, only by deliberately judging condition are those with higher value set apart.The first Indian head penny was minted in 1859 to replace the Flying eagle pennies that had design problems. The coin pictured highlights the need to evaluate these old coins carefully. Many Indian penny collections assembled long ago and now discovered by today's generation have the potential of yielding high grade examples.

Your box of old coins should be handled carefully. A remarkable coin that would enhance any advanced collection of Indian pennies.įeatured in a David Lawrence rare coin auction, bidding raised the value of this gem 1898 Indian penny to $678. With just a few of this quality remaining and the large number of collectors the value is always strong. Only on rare occasions does an old coin survive so nice. Bright golden luster, no visible blemishes, either nicks or darkness to the copper. It is apparent the gem quality condition of this coin.

1898 indian head penny ebay