1907 1c MS RB

1907 Cent Production: This date holds the record for production of any coin minted by the United States up until this time. The Mint would break this production record again in 1909, but that year’s mintage is divided between Indian Head cents and those of the new Lincoln design.

Late in 1907 the country saw a financial panic due to the failure of a few large businesses. Stock prices crashed and nearly started an economic meltdown. Financier J.P. Morgan and a group of bank executives temporarily supported the failing banks and restored stability to the market. The resulting inquiry resulted in the beginnings of what would become the Federal Reserve System.

Survivability: Cents of 1907 circulated widely and are the most commonly found in average circulated condition. Even if only 5% of the mintage were saved, which is likely, there would be enough coins to satisfy demand from collectors. Even so, examples in Good condition sell today for at least 100 times their face value! This is a testament to both the collector demand for Indian Head cents and the shrinking value printed on their face.

Collecting Challenges: Select problem-free coins. These are plentiful enough that a quality example should be easy to acquire.

Collecting Circulated Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for circulated coins is AU-50 to MS-63RB. Avoid problems and take extra care to find the coin that matches your set the best.

Collecting Mint State Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for Mint State coins is MS-65RD. Only in lower Mint State grades is this date the most common. In gem condition a 1907 cent is slightly more diffcult to find than many other dates. The issue of quality over technical grade is an important concern here. Many 1907 cents do not come with the great eye appeal found on other dates. This is purely a factor of chance survival of a few lesser-quality rolls than anything else. Take extra time to find the real attractive pieces.

Collecting Proof Issues: This is the low-mintage date of the later dates, 1879 to 1909, in Proof format. This is surprising to newer collectors. The Mint did not produce Mint State coins for collectors, and they didn’t want to make more Proof issues than they could sell. Coins this year come with die-polishing lines more often than do other dates. True gems are very scarce and command a good premium over other dates. Full cameo examples exist but are scarce.

There are 47 varieties of this date currently recorded, more than any other date. Collecting these could be a daunting task. Collections assembled by early variety collectors Joe Haney and Al Mays Sr. were close to complete, and formed the basis of my Flying Eagle and Indian Cent Attribution Guide, Volume 6, 1900–1909. Today, at least, collectors have a referral list or attribution guide. Joe Haney had been collecting Indian Head cent varieties long before anyone else thought to look for them. Al Mays Sr. started collecting them in the late 1990’s when I decided to add the known varieties to the book that was published in 1992. Al purchased many of the known varieties. The Al Mays collection was auctioned through Heritage Galleries in 2005. Today, collecting later-date Indian Head cents can be a fascinating excursion. There are certainly enough coins to look through. A collector on a modest budget can look through and buy many interesting repunched dates, misplaced dates, and even doubled dies, for small premiums.