1873 Indian Head cent
Verfasst: Di 10.02.15 07:22
Like other American coins from 1873, this Indian Head cent comes in two date-varieties: “Closed 3” and “Open 3.” This is the earlier, “Closed 3” variety, and seeing how much the 1873 looks like “1878,” it’s easy to see why the dates got a rework.
When this little bronze cent was coined in 1873, the U.S. was still trying to recover from the Civil War. Part of that struggle to recover was a revamp of America’s coinage, and 1873 was one of the three really landmark years in U.S. coin legislative history (1792 and 1965 being the others).
Gone after 1873 were the 2-cent piece, the silver 3-cent, the half-dime, and the standard silver dollar. (This last further confirming the U.S. adoption of a de facto gold standard.) Added to the American coin series in 1873 was a trade dollar, and modified to be more metric-friendly were the dime, quarter, and half dollar.
V.
When this little bronze cent was coined in 1873, the U.S. was still trying to recover from the Civil War. Part of that struggle to recover was a revamp of America’s coinage, and 1873 was one of the three really landmark years in U.S. coin legislative history (1792 and 1965 being the others).
Gone after 1873 were the 2-cent piece, the silver 3-cent, the half-dime, and the standard silver dollar. (This last further confirming the U.S. adoption of a de facto gold standard.) Added to the American coin series in 1873 was a trade dollar, and modified to be more metric-friendly were the dime, quarter, and half dollar.
V.