1909 Indian Head Penny

This final year is a common date in the Indian scent series that would make the ideal collector type coin. By 1857, the cost of making and distributing copper coins had risen. Mint Director James Ross Snowden reported that they barely paid expenses. Both cents and half cents had become unpopular; in fact, they hardly circulated outside the larger cities. The practice of issuing subsidiary, silver coins, which began in 1853, brought about a reform of copper coinage. The half cent was abandoned, and the smaller scent was introduced in 1857. The law of 1857 brought important benefits to American citizens. By its terms, Spanish coins were redeemed and melted at the mint and exchange for new, small sets. The decimal system became popular and official thereafter, and the old method of reckoning in reales, medios, shillings, and so on, was gradually given up.