What is a Red Penny?
The term red penny may be used to refer to a number of different things, although generally it is just used to speak of a penny that is in mint condition. In some cases it may be used to refer to the so-called Indian Head penny, although the term is considered derogatory, and so is not in common usage. Red penny may also be a misunderstood reference to the Penny Red, the main postage stamp used in Britain for many years. The Indian Head penny was printed in the United States from 1859 to 1909 in Philadelphia, and briefly from 1908 to 1909 in San Francisco. It was a one-cent coin, holding the same place as our modern penny, but with a different design. On one side the coin has the Liberty head wearing a Native American headdress, with the word Liberty within the headdress, as it is required to appear on all United States coinage. On the other side are the words One Cent, with the shield of the United States. The older red penny, from about 1859 to 1864, contained 12% nickel in addition
