Highlights
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Issuer: United States (Philadelphia, no mintmark)
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Date/Denomination: 1891 • One Cent
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Grade/Color: NGC MS 63 RB (Red-Brown)
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Designer: James B. Longacre
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Composition: Bronze (≈95% copper, 5% tin & zinc)
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Weight: 3.11 g • Diameter: 19.05 mm • Edge: Plain • Orientation: Coin alignment ↑↓
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Mintage: ~47 million (common date; conditionally scarce in true Mint State)
Design
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Obverse: Liberty wearing a feathered headdress, legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, date 1891.
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Reverse: Oak wreath and arrows with Union shield above; large ONE CENT at center.
Historical Significance
Struck in the Gilded Age near the close of the Indian Head series (1859–1909), the 1891 cent represents the long-running bronze standard adopted in 1864. Longacre’s neoclassical Liberty—paired with American motifs—became one of the most recognizable 19th-century U.S. coin designs and a workhorse of everyday commerce.
