Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 5/14/2006

Question
I have some indian cents packaged on a yellow peice of cardboard they state  UNITED STATES INDIAN CENT
one is 1892 and has $1.50 marked on it
1898 with  75c  1883 with $2.50  and 1896 with 95c marked on it any comments would be appretiated. they are in mint condition! Just inquiring about them would like some history! Thank You  

Answer
Hello, Nichole, thanks for the question.  I've seen the cards that you are talking about -- they are dealer cards, used to show the pieces in a shop -- and the amounts listed are prices.  Based on the prices listed, I don't see how the pieces can be in mint uncirculated condition, as they wouldn't have sold for those prices.  But maybe someone substituted cents.  Anyway, to get an idea of what condition various Indian cents are in go to www.ebay.com and do a search for "Indian cent" or "Indian penny" or even "1892 Indian cent" and you'll see quite a lot of them for sale.  Look at some of the pictures and compare them to what you have.

The Indian cent was made from 1859 to 1909, based on a design by James Longacre.  They say his daughter (think her name was Sarah) posed for the "Indian."

Mint state cents look like 2006 cents that you would see in circulation -- bright and shiny "red."  There is nothing you can do to "improve" your old Indian cents to make them in better condition -- anything you do will look artificial and substantially decrease the value of your old coins and harm an old historic relic.

Hope this helped and good luck collecting, Jim Lawniczak