The San Francisco call., 1910-06-13
Big PREMIUMS PAID
FOR LINCOLN CENTS
Some Pennies Made in 1909
Bring as Much as 81 at
New York Auction

The interest aroused among coin col
lectors by the change in the design of
the cent is shown by the fact that al
ready two varieties of the 1909 cent
command a premium of over So. There
are no less than seven varieties of
the cent of 1909
First among these varieties are the
Indian head and the Lincoln cent in
proof condition. These constitute dis
tlnct varieties in the eyes of collectors
and they are the most valuable of all
the cents of the year. A proof speci-
men of the Indian head cent brought
S2.25, and one of the Lincoln cents 81
at recent auction sale in New York
The proof coins were made especially
for collectors at the mint, and show a
superior finish TO that on the coins
made for circulation.
The third variety is the Indian head
cent struck for general use. 1t is held
at a slight premium, a lot of five pieces
in uncirculated condition bringing IL
cents each at the same sale, while a
brilliant red specimen was bid in at 2S
cents.
COLLECTORS PAY PREMIUMS
The fourth variety is the Lincoln cent
made al the Philadelphia mint for gem
l01IlaIS
V. ID. B. A lot of SO pieces in bright
red condition brought cents each at
the sale.
The fifth variety is the Lincoln cent
made at Philadelphia, on which the
initials of the designer are omitted. 1t
is held at no premium.
No Indian head cents were made at
the San Francisco mint in 1909, says
the New York Sun. All the cents made
there bear the mint letter S on the
reverse side and are of the Lincoln
design, the sixth and seventh varieties
being the cents of this mint with and
without the initials V. d. B.
In the eyes of the collectors, Judging
from the most recent auctions of coins.
the last two varieties are of about equal
value. A specimen of the San Francisco
cent with the initials, in bright red
condition, brought 16 cents. while a lot
of two pieces in the same condition
brought II cents EACH
Coin collectors and dealers are of the
opinion that the Lincoln cent will make
many new coin collectors, just as the
advent of the 1856 flying eagle cent
aroused such interest that coin collect
ing was placed on a permanent basis
in this country. Prior to 1856 there
were very few collectors of coins in the
United States, and very low prices were
paid for coins which were conceded to
be of extreme rarity.
The change of design in 1856 from
the old fashioned large copper cent.
which had been doing duty since the
opening of the mint in 1898, to the
small cent of copper-nickel attracted so
much attention that a host of persons
Joined the ranks of the collectors and
caused sudden advance in the price
of coin rarities.
Although the 1856 cent is actually a
pattern cent, the law authorizing the
issue of the design not having been
passed until February 81, 1851 never
thelesS 1T was of the same design and
of the same metal as the regular 1857
flying eagle cent. In 1853 these pat
tern cents were made in considera BILE
numbers. No one knows just how many
were made, but certainly there were
hundreds and perhaps thousands of
them. Indeed, the statement was made
few years ago that fully $4,000 of
the 1855 flying eagle cents had been
made. 1t is also a fact that for a time
the 1856 cents could be bought at the
mint for exactly l cent each, notwith-
standing that at present an uncirculated
specimen is worth about 81 and a proof
specimen has an auction record of SIS
The flying eagle cents were issued
for the purpose of redeeming the old
copper cents, which had been discon-
tinued, and also the fractional parts
of the Spanish dollar, which for a long
time had been passing current through
out the United States. These silver
pieces became worn and mutilated and
caused much annoyance, so that they
began to depreciate in value. and the
act of congress of 1857 sought to get
rid of them by having them received
at the mints and paid for with flying
eagle cents.
COINS BECOME A NUISANCE
In 1857 100000 of flying eagle cents
were struck at the mint. and prepara-
tions were made at Philadelphia for
theNredemption under the new act. In
anticipation of the scramble that would
come with the announcement that the
mint authorities were ready to redeem
the coins specified temporary build
;l;g was erected in the yard OF the
mint. Over two cashiers windows
were placed the signs Gents for Cents
and Gents for Silver The redemp-
tion plan called for packages of the
silver coin containing SIS. The cents
to be used in payment were placed in
canvas bags containing 500 each. On
the day the redemption began the
crowd at the mint was so great that
it was necessary to form two separate
! lines leading to the windows.