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The Indian Head cent, also known as an Indian

A head penny (one-cent coin) was produced

from 1859 to 1909. It was designed by James Barton Longacre, the Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint. This “Indian Head” portrait, is not a Native American profile but is apparently modeled after the Greco-Roman statue Venus Accroupie.

In 1859 Indian Head was made with a copper-nickel metal content, but no shield on the reverse. The metal content remained the same as the 1859 from 1860-1864, but a shield was added to the reverse of the coin. 

Cents were hoarded during the economic chaos of the American Civil War when the metal nickel was in short supply. As Mint officials saw that privately issued bronze tokens were circulating, they induced Congress to pass the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing a slimmer cent of bronze alloy.

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In 1864 Bronze coin was minted (95% copper

and 5% zinc/tin) and this date has a variety known as 1864 L, with the L representing the designer's initials. Over 13 million 1864-dated pennies were minted using the copper and nickel composition, and over 39 million 1864-dated coins were made with the bronze composition

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In the postwar period, the cent became very popular and was struck in large numbers in most years. An exception was 1877, when a poor economy and little demand for cents created one of the rarest dates in the series.

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Bronze Indian Head cents remained in production without interruption for nearly half a century before giving way to the Lincoln design in 1909. The design remained the same for the entire run except for minute changes in 1886, when the then Chief Engraver, Charles Barber, slightly lowered the relief and made a small change in the position of the last headdress feather. So, on coins minted from 1859 through mid-1886, the last feather of the headdress points between I and C (variety 1): on that minted from mid-1886 through 1909, it points between C and A (variety2).

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For all but the last two years, Indian Heads were struck only at the main mint in Philadelphia; in 1908 and 1909, the San Francisco branch struck cents, both times in

very limited quantities. On these, the “S” mint mark appears below the wreath on the reverse.