Indian Head Cent 1889 G-VG

The United States would grow immensely in the year 1889, as the nation admitted North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to the Union. However, in that same year, the world also grew smaller. Nelli Bly, a reporter for Pulitzer’s New York World, traveled around the world in a race to beat Jules Verne’s fictional charater Phileas Fogg’s record of 80 days. She would go on to beat the record by more than a week. The Wall Street Journal was first published in the year 1889. It was originally just an expansion of Dow Jones daily financial newsletter. In coin news, the Carson City Mint in Nevada began minting coins again after a four year hiatus.

The United States Mint increased its production of Indian Head cents this year to almost 50,000,000. This year’s issue, like others from the decade, stayed in circulation for decades, even after the design change in 1909. This year, the US Mint bought its planchets from another company so there is actually a slight difference in color from years prior. Due to its long time in circulation, finding high grade gems from this year is actually a difficult task. Many collectors did not have an incentive to accumulate cents from this year.

The proof mintage dropped off a little this year from the year prior. Only 3,300 were issued in the year 1889. The proof coins themselves are of average quality. Strong red proof cameos are exceptionally difficult to find. Up to this point, over thirty different die variety are known for this year. The most popular is the Snow-1. This is a double die on the reverse. It is particularly strong on the right wreath and federal shield. As with almost all other Indian Head cents, the remaining varieties are mostly repunched dates. 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: 1889
• Diameter: 19 mm
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: 1.5 mm
• Grade: Ungraded