The Indian head pennies were made from 1859 to 1909 and were liked by collectors. The 1877 penny coin is important for collectors because of its rarity and historical features. Here, we will discuss the value of the 1877 penny features, taking into account the various grades. So let’s start with how much an 1877 giant penny is worth.
1877 Indian Head Penny Value Chart
1877 Penny |
Good |
Fine |
Extremely Fine |
Uncirculated |
No-Mint Mark Indian Head Penny Value
|
$1,028 |
$1,175 |
2800$ |
$5,126 |
Proof Indian Head Penny Value
|
– |
– |
– |
$3,000 to$11,000
$36,000 in a 2020 auction. |
1877 (P) No Mint Mark Indian Head Penny Value
The 1877 No Mint marks about 852,500 pennies made by the Philadelphia Mint, and their value for different grades is different. In 1877 pennies were only made by the Philadelphia Mint, and no other mints, S or D, made these pennies. There is a small number of Indian head pennies made this year.
The 1877 Indian Head pennies are now rare and important for collectors. Good condition coins for this grade are 1028 dollars. Fine conditions are about 1765 dollars. The excellent condition coin is about 5125 dollars for the MS63 grade.
Brown pennies are about 585 dollars to 4600 dollars, according to conditions.
MS60 grades are 4850 dollars, and MS65 grades are 11500 dollars.
MS66 grades are about 20,000 dollars. Full red coins are rare, and the MS66 grade is 125,000 dollars.
1877 Proof Indian Head Penny Value
The Philadelphia Mint also made 1977-proof Indian head pennies, about 900. But now these coins are not known. These coins are of high value and rare in nature. Different grades of 1877 proof pennies are about 3000 to 11000 dollars. In action 2020, the PF66 grade proof pennies sold for 36,000 dollars. The proof pennies with the use of special prices that make coins shiny and mirror-like surfaces. They can be about USD 2,962.
1877 Indian Head Penny Grades
Number |
Grade |
1 |
Basal State-1 |
2 |
Fair |
3 |
Very Fair |
4, 5, 2006 |
Good |
7, 8, 10 |
Very Good |
12, 15 |
Fine |
20, 30 |
Very Fine |
40 |
|
50 |
|
60 |
MS |
65 |
MS |
70 |
MS |
1877 Indian Head Penny History
The 1877 Indian Head pennies are known as Indian Head cents, and these coins were made from 1859 to 1909 and then replaced with Lincoln pennies in 1909 on the 100th birthday of Lincoln’s presidency. The Indian head pennies are made in place of flying eagle cents that are difficult to mint and a high-cost process. The copper pennies made from 1793 to 1857 then changed composition due to the high prices of copper. In 1857 the composition changed to 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel. The new coins made, called Flying Eagle cents, have lower sizes than older coins.
The copper and nickel composition was first used for flying eagle pennies; after that, in 1858, new designs of coins were made, and in 1859, Indian head pennies were made in place of the Flying Eagle cent.
In 1877 there were 852,500 cents made, which is a lower mintage as compared to other coins.
Features of 1877 Indian Head Penny
Obverse of 1877 Indian Head Penny
The design of Indian head pennies was made by James Barton Longacre, who was the chief engraver of the Philadelphia Mint. The front side of the coins comes with Lady Liberty facing left. There were many explanations given to Liberty photos, but the most famous is that it is Longacre’s twelve-year-old daughter.
The word LIBERTY is also written to the side, and there is an L below Lady Liberty’s hair.
The country name, UNITED STATES of AMERICA, is also written there, and the mint date, 1877, is written on this side.
Reverse of the 1877 Indian Head Penny
The backside of these coins comes with two oak branches tied with each other through the ribbon. The oak is replaced with a laurel wreath that is used in older Indian pennies. The oak leaves are open to a shield that comes with 13 horizontal stripes and 13 vertical stripes denoting 13 states.
The ONE CENT denomination is also written on this side.
Some other features of 1877 Indian Head pennies are:
- that it is made with 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc.
- The diameter is 19 mm, and the weight is 3.11 grams.
Country: |
|
Year of Issue: |
1877 |
Denomination: |
|
Mintmark: |
|
Mintage: |
852,500 |
Quality: |
Uncirculated |
Alloy: |
.950 Copper, .050 Zinc and Tin
|
Weight: |
3.11 g |
Diameter: |
19.00 mm |
1877 Indian Head Penny Errors List
Off-Center Strike Indian Head Penny Error
The off-center is the result of when the planchet is not struck at the accurate point and some parts of the design are missing. That makes 1877 off-center pennies, and the value of these pennies is based on the percentage off-center. The 10 to 15 percent off-center coin is about 120 dollars or higher, and 50 percent off-center with a clear mint mark and date is about $300.
Strike-Through Indian Head Penny Error
This error is a result of when any external particle or debris comes between the planchet striking and the shifted design; it makes an 1877 penny strike-through error. If there is a larger particle on coins printed with the design, remove more coins high with the mintage date sen. Coins with this error are about 2000 dollars. BN35 pennies with this error sold for 1100 dollars at auction, and Uncirculated 53 sold for $2,340 at auction.
Some pricey 1877 Indian head pennies
- MS66 Red grade sold for $100,000 to $149,000 in auction from 2007 to 2009. In 2019 sold for MS66RD CAC at $114,000.
- MS66 Red sold in auction for $110,000.
- MS65 Red MS65 Red has a value of $30,000, and MS63 RD is worth about $7,500.
- MS66 Red-Brown sold for $30,000; MS65 has a value of $15,000 and $18,000.
- Red-Brown and Red have value from $5,350 to $8,750.
How can you tell if a 1877 Indian head penny is real?
The back side of coins does not have N in the word ONE, which can be seen on 1877 business strike coins.
Why is the 1877 Indian head penny so valuable?
The 1877 Indian Head pennies are not very old coins; that is the 2nd lowest mintage in the history of Indian Head pennies after 1909 cents. But they are rare and high value for collectors due to low mintage.
What is the most valuable 1877 Indian Head penny?
The most valuable 1877 Indian Head pennies sold in 2007 for $149,500 with Mint State Uncirculated 66 RD (red) condition.
What is the significance of the Indian head penny?
The Indian Head Penny was made as a replacement for the Flying Eagle Cent in 1859. The Indian Head pennies are the 2nd smallest format coins in US coinage history after the Large Cent.
What are the most valuable Indian head pennies?
- 1870 Indian Head Penny Regular Strike
- 1869 Indian Head Penny Regular Strike.
- 1873 Indian Head Penny Open 3 Regular Strike
- 1882 Indian Head Penny Regular Strike.
- 1871 Indian Head Penny Regular Strike.
- 1894 Indian Head Penny Proof CAC.
- 1897 Indian Head Penny Proof.
Read also
- How much is a 1863 Indian Head Penny worth?
- 1859 Indian Head Penny Coin Value, Feature, Types, & Error
- 1902 Indian Head Penny Value, Error, Features, Mint Mark
- 1899 Indian Head Penny Value, Are “Red”, “Brown”, “Red-Brown” Worth Money?
- How much is a 1906 Indian head penny worth
- 1930 Wheat Penny Coin Value, Error, Mint Mark, Types, & Uses