1877 Indian Head Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 852,500 made
- Mintage
- 852,500
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
- Weight
- 3.11 g
- Diameter
- 19 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1877 Indian Head Cent worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1877 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
The 1877 is the key date of the Indian Head cent series.
Quick answers
- Is the 1877 Indian Head Cent rare?
- Somewhat. 852,500 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1877 Indian Head Cent?
- No mint mark. Philadelphia struck every Indian cent until 1908.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1877 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Philadelphia issue had a smaller mintage than the 1877.
- How many 1877 Indian Head Cent coins were made?
- 852,500.
What to check on your 1877
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1877 Indian Head Cent Proof (900 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. In Very Fine, all five letters of LIBERTY on the headband are visible; collectors also look at the feather tips and the "diamonds" on the ribbon. Color is graded too: Red (RD), Red-Brown (RB) and Brown (BN).
The story of the 1877
Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1877. Only 852,500 were made, against 7.9 million the year before. That drop is why the 1877 is the one people look for. In 1878 the figure was 5.8 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1877 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1908-S (1,115,000) and the 1909-S (309,000).
Of the 52 Indian Head Cents Philadelphia struck between 1859 and 1909, this is the scarcest. No Indian Head Cent of the 1870s had a smaller run.
Open 3, Closed 3 and the rare 1877 (1873 to 1878)
Early 1873 cents used a date punch where the knobs of the 3 nearly touch, which looked too much like an 8. The Mint switched to an Open 3 later in the year. The Closed 3 also produced a scarce doubled LIBERTY variety. Production climbed above 14 million in 1874, then the long slump that followed the Panic of 1873 cut demand.
The 1877 is the key date of the series, with only 852,500 coined at a time when the Treasury held a surplus of minor coins and business was weak. It has been widely counterfeited, often by reshaping the last digit of an 1879 or another date, so authentication matters. The 1878 recovered only to about 5.8 million. Most survivors from these years are brown and circulated. Many 1877 cents have been cleaned or damaged, so problem free examples are especially sought after.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1877
Cent production fell sharply as the economy stayed depressed after the Panic of 1873. The 1877 Indian Head cent has the lowest Philadelphia mintage of the series and is its best-known key date.
How to recognize it
Liberty wears a feathered headdress with LIBERTY on the band, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the date below. The 1859 reverse is a laurel wreath around ONE CENT; from 1860 an oak wreath with a small shield at the top was used. Coins from 1864 on are bronze and from partway through 1864 they show the designer's initial L on the ribbon behind Liberty's neck. Mint marks (only S, 1908 and 1909) are below the wreath on the reverse.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Indian Head Cent (1859–1909) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 852,500 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze) |
| Weight | 3.11 grams |
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Other 1877 Indian Head Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1877 Indian Head Cent | 852,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1877 Indian Head Cent Proof | 900 | Proof | – |
Mintage: United States cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.