1861 1C MS(PCGS#2061)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3038

Grade

MS66

Price

3,660

Lot Description

Lovely pinkish-tan surfaces border on pristine. There are no marks of note, both sides are satiny and smooth, and the strike detail is razor sharp from the rims to the centers. With only 10,100,000 circulation strikes produced, the 1861 boasts the lowest mintage among copper-nickel Indian cents. Perhaps understandably, this is the scarcest date of its type, the paucity of survivors also explained by the wholesale redemption and melting of examples during the 1870s. Even so, Mint State survivors are fairly plentiful in an absolute sense, due to hoarding of copper-nickel cents during the Civil War. Few such coins are as well preserved as this impressive upper end Gem, however, which fact is sure to result in spirited competition for this offering among discerning collectors.