1895 1c MS RB

1895 Cent Production: Mintages rose this year, and would remain high until the last year of Indian Head cent coinage in 1909.

Survivability: Cents of this year are widely available. As the series drew to a close in the next 14 years, the coins saved from circulation tend to be of a higher quality.

Collecting Challenges: These come well struck and are easily located in most grades.

Collecting Circulated Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for circulated coins is AU-50 to MS-63RB. These are easily found in all grades. Search out a problem-free example. A common problem with all Indian Head cents is cleaning. In years past, when “Brilliant Uncirculated” meant “bright red,” many examples were harshly cleaned to meet the expectations of beginner collectors. A quality-conscious collector should get a feel for how an original Uncirculated coin looks—and avoid harshly cleaned pieces, which have little resale value.

Collecting Mint State Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for Mint State coins is MS-64RD or MS-65RB. This date is widely available in low grades. Collectors should be cautioned that small imperfections on high-grade coins could hurt their desirability. Collectors impatient to search for high-quality coins should perhaps stick with MS-64RB graded coins.

Collecting Proof Issues: This is a relatively common date even though the mintage is much lower than those of earlier dates. These come with attractive eye appeal more often than other dates. Full red gems are as readily available as those of most other dates, but cameo examples are quite scarce. Of the five Proof die pairs of this year, three of them have repunched dates of varying boldness. Proof collectors tend to be interested strictly in date sets, not varieties, so these do not tend to bring much of a premium.

Presently 30 varieties are known; most of these are repunched dates.