Flying Eagles and Indian Heads

Home , Bronze (color), Flying Eagle cent, Indian Head cent

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GETTING STARTED MITCH SANDERS Flying Eagles and Indian Heads

Once familiar images on the common, American “penny,” these popular motifs eventually gave way to a presidential portrait.

America’s economy, as paper currency The Flying Eagle cent and the In- displaced metallic money. Copper- dian Head cent often are collected to- NE HUNDRED nickel cents had once been plentiful— gether. The four major types include: and fifty years sometimes to the point of nuisance. Flying Eagle (1857-58); copper-nickel ago this month, But as the conflict continued, cents Indian Head (1859); copper-nickel In- something en- were hoarded, prized for their conven- dian Head with modified reverse tirely new appeared ience in everyday commerce. With (1860-64); and bronze Indian Head in American commerce: nickel comprising 12 percent of each (1864-1909). Collecting one of each the small cent. Until 1857, cent, a limited supply of the metal kept gives a nice overview of the two series. cents were bulky copper the Mint from keeping up with de- A complete collection of Flying coins, inconvenient to use and in- mand. Made in vast quantities with a Eagle cents contains only two pieces, creasingly expensive to make. But the wide variety of patriotic slogans or ad- though the scarce 1856—prepared new, smaller, copper-nickel cents were vertising messages, privately issued as a pattern, not for circulation— V instantly popular, because they were bronze tokens filled the gap. compact and could be exchanged for Official cents—made of bronze— worn, Spanish silver coins that had lin- returned to circulation in 1864. Mint- Only the headdress on the 1859 gered in America’s money supply. ages grew by the decade, and the coin Indian Head cent is authentically The new coin’s obverse portrayed a achieved what Vermeule called “the Native American. The laurel wreath on flying eagle, with a wreath of agricul- blessing of popular appeal” until the reverse was replaced with an oak tural products (corn, cotton, tobacco, it was replaced by the Lincoln cent wreath in 1860. wheat) on the reverse. Both sides were in 1909. designed by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver James Longacre, though the eagle was based on an earlier image by his predecessor Christian Gobrecht. The bird in flight certainly was aestheti- cally pleasing; art historian Cornelius Vermeule praised the design’s “naturalistic power and precision.” But the motif soon was abandoned: it was too difficult to impress into the hard, nickel alloy. Its replacement, the Indian Head cent, debuted in 1859. (Actually, Long- acre’s creation might more appropri- ately be called the “Indian Headgear” cent, because only the headdress is authentically Native American.) The laurel wreath on the reverse was replaced by an oak wreath in 1860, with a small shield incorporated into the design. Ironically, this symbol of national unity appeared on the eve of a sec- tional conflict that would tear the country apart.

The Civil War wreaked havoc with COIN PHOTOS: ANA ARCHIVES

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GETTING STARTED continued

sometimes is included. The Indian you a well-worn Flying Eagle, a mod- Head cent series is less extensive estly worn copper-nickel Indian or a than its 50-year lifespan suggests, be- nearly uncirculated bronze Indian. For cause, until 1908, all were made at the $100, you can purchase a modestly Philadelphia Mint without a mint- worn Flying Eagle, a nearly uncircu- mark. The 1877 and the 1909-S are the lated copper-nickel Indian, or a choice, keys to the series, while copper-nickel red-brown, uncirculated bronze Indian. pieces and Philadelphia issues after Of course, rare dates or coins in higher 1878 generally are inexpensive. condition will command higher prices. As usual, a coin’s value is heavily More details on the two series, in- determined by its state of preserva- cluding numerous color photos, can tion. The amount of detail on the be found in Richard Snow’s compre- eagle’s feathers, and the legibility hensive Guide Book of Flying Eagle and prominence of LIBERTY on the and Indian Head Cents. The website

COIN PHOTOS: ANA ARCHIVES Indian’s headband are good indica- www.indianheads.org/index.html has tions of overall wear. There are dis- lots of great information and many tinctions to be made even among un- images that collectors of these coins circulated coins: those with fewer will enjoy. marks or brighter luster bring a pre- Flying Eagle and Indian Head cents mium. Coloration also affects valua- once were considered innovative and tion: bronze Indian Head cents with popular, but that time has long since original, orange-red color are more passed. Still, for numismatists, history Longacre’s Flying Eagle design had highly prized than red-brown or comes alive when collecting these ap- “naturalistic power and precision.” brown specimens. pealing coins. In today’s coin market, $25 will get [email protected]

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