Highlights
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Issuer: United States
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Date: 1903 (Philadelphia, no mintmark)
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Denomination: One Cent
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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
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Diameter: 19.05 mm
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Edge: Plain
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Mintage: ~85 million (common date; conditionally scarce in high Mint State)
Design
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Obverse: Liberty wearing a feathered headdress with legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and date 1903.
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Reverse: Oak wreath tied with ribbon and arrows, Union shield above, denomination ONE CENT at center.
Historical Significance
Struck during the later years of the Indian Head series (1859–1909), the 1903 cent represents the long-running bronze issue introduced in 1864. Longacre’s neoclassical Liberty—in Native American headdress—became one of America’s most recognized 19th-century designs, circulating widely through the nation’s industrial boom.
