Indian Head Cent 1883 G-VG

For those living in New York City, 1883 is a very special year. After 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed, finally connecting the Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs. At that time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and is designated today as a National Historic Engineering Landmark. This year, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show premiered in Omaha, Nebraska. This would forever immortalize the rough and tumble life of American cowboys. The first vaudeville show, a major precursor to television today, opened to much fanfare in Boston. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, one of this writer’s favorites, finally printed in book form this year. In the realm of coins, Dye’s Coin Encyclopedia was published. This was really the first major book of its type in America and helped promote coin collecting as a hobby.

This year saw the highest cent mintage figures in the entire 1880’s. The 1883 Indian Head cent’s mintage was over 45,000,000. As cents continued to flood the market and the US Mint was no longer redeeming old cents at the same rate of the 1870’s, much of the year’s Indian Head cent issues remained in circulation until well into the twentieth century. Although so many were minted, today much of the remaining pennies are in well circulated condition. Many mint state examples exist, but have not been well cared for, improperly cleaned for example.

This year also saw a high production of proof issues. The US Mint sold record number of minor coinage proof sets. These sets typically included the Indian Head cent, three cent nickel, and one of three types of five cent nickels, as the Liberty Head V Nickel came out this year. Because the Liberty Head nickels were so popular this year and many dealers hoarded them, the 1883 proof Indian Head cents were not as well kept, but are still yet very common today. The most popular variety today is the a repunched “1” were the base of the digit sticks out of Liberty’s neck. If you have any questions regarding the Indian Head Cent or varieties, please contact any of our knowledgeable staff at 800-735-1311, and we’ll be happy to assist you!

• Denomination: Cent
• Year: 1883
• Diameter: 19 mm
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: 1.5 mm
• Grade: Ungraded