Indian Head Cent 1866 G-VG

The Civil War had ended but the country was still reeling from the bloodiest war the country would ever see. The economy began to flourish, but corruption and graft plagued a reconstruction era south. Congress passed progressive legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 making most native born people citizens of the United States, ironically this act would not extend to Native Americans despite their name. Other progressive actions were taken in the country as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded. Currency saw many changes as well. As on the two cent coin in 1864, now paper currency would display the motto “In God We Trust”.

The United States Mint policy of circulating more coins and a wider variety of denominations helped get fractional paper currency out of circulation. By 1866, the public did not have as large a need for pennies. Because of this, the Mint made less than 10,000,000 pennies this year. Coupled with this, many did not collect this year’s coin and by the 1870’s many of this year’s issue was melted. Today, this year is difficult to find in high grades. Unfortunately finding a specimen with great eye appeal has been proven difficult and comes with a price. A very scarce issue! Because of this, the coin remains an elusive part of all collector’s coin albums.

Although over 725 proof Indian Head cents were issued in 1866, these coins are also very scarce. It is typically undergraded due to die issues and rusting. The most popular variety for the 1866 Indiand Head cent is a double die of the word “Liberty” on Liberty’s headband. Along with this double die, the 1 in 1866 is see repunched under Liberty’s necklace. Other repunched date varieties also exist for this year, but no variety is more popular than the double die obverse of “Liberty”!

• Denomination: Cent
• Year: 1866
• Diameter: 19mm
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: 1.5mm
• Grade: Ungraded