By Eric Von Klinger for Coin World

For many of today’s older, longtime collectors, an Indian Head cent dated in the 1900s was likely the first antique they placed in their collection.

Parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, elderly friends of the family – all, it seemed, had set aside an assortment of the once familiar coins as they were fast disappearing from circulation in the post-Depression, postwar years of the 1940s. Mostly, they were from the late high-mintage years of the series.

These accumulators might have been curious first to find out what the old coins were worth, but on learning that most of them sold in Good to Fine grade for only a few cents, they were delighted to contribute one or more to the new collector.

Although the 20th century did not begin until Jan. 1, 1901, collectors often treat the Indian Head cents of 1900 as part of a group that begins that year and continues to the end of the series in 1909 and is commonly referred to as 20th century.
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