COUNTERFEIT INDIAN HEAD CENTS FAKES and COPIES copy : eBay Guides

This is a quick and dirty guide to help know if a certain Indian Cent you are thinking of buying may be a counterfeit. I've been seeing a lot of fake Indian Head Cents on e-bay lately that at first glance look real but are in fact fakes. Different years use different hubs to produce......... OK. Let's keep this simple. Here is what an Indian Cent that was minted from 1859-1885 will look like.

The following picture is the TYPE 1 OBVERSE.

This is called the TYPE 1 OBVERSE and is found only on the 1859-1885 cents and also a portion of the 1886 dated cents. View the yellow line and see where the lower feather bisects the "IC" of the word "AMERICA".

The following picture is known as the TYPE 2 OBVERSE.

Notice that the lower feather bisects the "CA" of "AMERICA". This obverse was used from 1886-1909. You will notice that both obverse types were used in 1886 as this was a transitional year. It's amazing this was not noticed by collectors until 1954. Almost all the copies of Indians I've seen from 1870 1871 1872 and 1877 have this TYPE 2 OBVERSE which is impossible due to the design change not occurring until 1886.

Now we will move on to the 3 REVERSE TYPES.

The following pics are of the TYPE 1 or SHALLOW N REVERSE.

View the olive arrows and see why it is called the SHALLOW N REVERSE also known as REVERSE of 1869. This reverse was exclusively used from 1860-1869 and 1877. 

NOTE: ALL 1877 INDIAN CENT BUISINESS (non proof) STRIKES WILL HAVE THIS TYPE 1 REVERSE!!! Note: Proof strikes will have the bold N (Type 3 reverse).

 This reverse was also used on some Indians dated 1870 1871 and 1872. About 20% of the 1870 coins, 8% of the 1872s and about 1% of 1871 dated coins have this reverse. The 1871 Shallow N is one of the top varities of the series and has been getting more and more expensive every year. There is a report of an 1873 shallow N but no recent examples have been found.  I challenge everyone to look for these and see how scarce they are. View the close up of one of the "E"s in "ONE CENT". Notice the center of the "E" is shaped like a letter "T". Both "E"s will look like this. 

This is a picture of the TYPE 2 also known as BOLD N OVER SHALLOW N REVERSE.

This is technically a Class 3 Double Die and is found on 1870 dated coins ONLY. Notice the center leg of the "E" in "ONE" is "T" shaped (see purple arrows) and the center leg of the "E" in "CENT" is trumpet shaped (see orange and white arrows). The blue and yellow arrows show some of the doubling.

The following is a picture of the BOLD N or TYPE 3 REVERSE.

As you can see, the center leg of BOTH Es are trumpet shaped. This reverse was first used in 1870  and is found on most 1870 1871 and 1872 coins. Coins from 1873-1876 and 1878-1909 exclusivly use this reverse die.

I welcome everyone to visit the Wiki space written specifically for Indian Head Cent by Rick Snow.  Many close up pics of Indians. Enjoy!