<Tr> <Th> Designer </Th> <Td> James B. Longacre </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Design date </Th> <Td> 1860 </Td> </Tr> <P> The Indian Head cent, also known as an Indian Head penny, was a one - cent coin ($0.01) produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1859 to 1909 . It was designed by James Barton Longacre, the Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint . </P> <P> From 1793 to 1857, the cent was a copper coin about the size of a half dollar . As rising copper prices made it impractical to keep striking them, in 1857 the Mint reduced the size of the cent, issuing a new design, the Flying Eagle cent . The new pieces were identical in diameter to modern cents, though somewhat thicker and made of copper - nickel . The design caused production difficulties, and the Mint soon looked to replace the coin . Mint Director James Ross Snowden selected the Indian Head design, and chose a laurel wreath for the reverse that was replaced in 1860 by an oak wreath with a shield . Cents were hoarded during the economic chaos of the American Civil War, when the metal nickel was in short supply . As Mint officials saw that privately issued bronze tokens were circulating, they induced Congress to pass the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing a slimmer cent of bronze alloy . </P>

When was the first indian head penny made