I have an Indian Head penny and I believe the date is 1860 and I need help verifying it. I've used the "Official Red Book" of US Coins 2018 edition and it's on page 116. I think this is a Variety 2 penny minted 1860-1864. It has the shield on the "One Cent" side and the date seems to be "1 8 ? 0" with the third digit being what I need help with. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! Dave
If it's thicker than a modern cent, that would confirm it's an 1860, made of copper-nickel (as the earlier Flying Eagle cents were) rather than bronze, like the coins from the latter half of 1864 onward were. Who cares about the enviro damage. That's a cool find. I have never dug a copper-nickel Indian or Flying Eagle cent, though a friend of mine once found an 1863 in one of my hotspots, using a detector he had borrowed from me. The earliest Indian cent I've dug with a readable date was a surprisingly nice 1868, though I did find a heavily corroded one I think might be an 1864 (bronze).
PS- welcome, BTW. Is the "1965" in your username your birthyear? If so, we're the same age. I'm a '65 model myself.
Yup.....I'm a 1965 model....March 1st to be exact! Thanks for the reply! Oh, and it is in fact thicker. It feels heavier weight wise too.
That clinches it. It's an 1860. You're not quite ten months older than me. I barely made it into the 1965 club, on December 28th.
