1909 1C Indian, BN VG8BN Certification #54165409, PCGS #2235

Charles Morgan

The 1909 Indian Cent

The year 1909 marked the 50th and final year of James Barton Longacre’s Indian Cent design before the U.S. Mint transitioned to Victor David Brenner’s Lincoln Wheat Cent. Philadelphia handled the bulk of the year's production, striking 14,368,470 coins starting on January 2, 1909. Notably, 1909 was the first year the date was hubbed directly into the master dies — a technical innovation designed to eliminate hand-punched overdates.

Noteworthy First Strike

A historic 1909 Philadelphia cent, purported to be the very first specimen struck by coiner Rhine R. Freed, sold at Stack’s Bowers on March 27, 2024, for $3,600 (complete with its original presentation card).

Known Varieties

Indian Cent expert Rick Snow attributes two distinct obverse varieties in his Flying Eagle & Indian Cent Attribution Guide:

• Master Die Doubled Initial (FS-101): Features doubling on Longacre’s "L" initial. Despite its inclusion in the Cherrypickers' Guide, this common master die issue affected numerous dies and carries little collector premium.
• Minor Doubled Die: Displays light, subtle doubling on the obverse lettering.

PCGS attributes the FS-101 through our variety service.

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