1862

The 1862 Indian Head cent was struck in enormous quantity: over 28 million coins. The Mint was producing cents at a furious pace to meet commercial demand, even as hoarding was pulling coins out of circulation almost as fast as they could be made. By late 1862, the hoarding crisis had reached the point where coins were effectively absent from everyday commerce in much of the Union. People paid premiums for coins and used postage stamps, encased postage, and privately issued copper tokens (Civil War tokens) to make change.

The paradox of the 1862 cent is that the Mint made a lot of them and people kept them. The high mintage, combined with widespread hoarding, means that the 1862 survives in better average condition than many pre-war dates. Coins that were set aside in 1862 because of the hoarding crisis often remained in storage for years, emerging decades later in Extremely Fine or better condition. The 1862 is one of the more available Indian Head dates in Uncirculated grades.

The copper-nickel composition remained unchanged in 1862, but the Mint was already exploring alternatives. The nickel content made the cents difficult to strike and caused excessive die wear. The search for a better composition would culminate in the switch to bronze in 1864.