Lot 1527
1877 Indian Head Cent. PCGS graded Proof 66 Red & Brown. Nice strike for this key date. Approx 900 proofs struck. Pop 4; none higher. Blazing original surfaces with intense color and superb iridescence creating a visual thrill for the viewer and sense of beauty. The colors are a rich blending of deep copper to golden copper, with a light wood-grain appearance. In the fields and on the devices, the shade has deepened to wonderful iridescent purple blue and brown, creating a handsome effect. Normal detail on all devices is typical for this scarce Proof issue; however, with present specimen we see even nicer detail in the broad regions of the feathers in the headdress as well as sharp letters in LIBERTY. The headband shows both its top and bottom borders. A remarkable Gem Proof.
Appropriate for a Cent of this year comes a phrase that is disgusting to modern ears but echoed the sentiments of the time: "There are no good Indians but dead Indians," exclaimed General Philip Sheridan, who, after Appomattox, was commissioned to "pacify" a wide area of the frontier. In that spirit no small part of the undertaking was realized. "Many, if not most, of our Indian wars have had their origin in broken promises and acts of injustice on our part," laconically remarked President Rutherford B. Hayes in a message to Congress in 1877 (PCGS # 2319) .
Estimated Value $8,500 - 9,000.
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