1909-S Indian Head Penny Value

1909-S Indian Head Cent

Key date

Only 309,000 were made in the design’s final year.

1909-S Indian Head Penny: front (type example, 1860 Indian Head cent) — Type example: 1860 Indian Head cent and 1860 wreath and shield reverse. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. This example is copper-nickel (pale); bronze Indian Head pennies, made from 1864, look coppery.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; front, back)

1909-S Indian Head Penny: back (type example, 1860 wreath and shield reverse) — Type example: 1860 Indian Head cent and 1860 wreath and shield reverse. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. This example is copper-nickel (pale); bronze Indian Head pennies, made from 1864, look coppery.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; front, back)

Value by condition

Penny Value estimate · values as of Q4 2026

Worn (Good to Very Fine)

$140 – $420

G-4 – VF-20

Uncirculated (MS-60)

$1,000

Brown

By grade

Typical value at each grade and colour. Penny Value estimate.
Grade	Brown	Red-Brown	Red
G-4Good	$140	—	—
VG-8Very Good	$250	—	—
F-12Fine	$300	—	—
VF-20Very Fine	$420	—	—
XF-40Extremely Fine	$620	—	—
AU-50About Uncirculated	$760	—	—
MS-60Mint State (Uncirculated)	$1,000	$1,100	—
MS-63Mint State (Uncirculated)	$1,000	$1,100	$2,200
MS-65Mint State (Uncirculated)	$3,000	$3,200	$6,900

Values as of Q4 2026 · Penny Value estimate · based on 7 recorded sales

Penny Value estimate, 2026-Q4, from public sale records, mintage and survival data. It isn't a price guide or an offer.

How Penny Value estimates values

Check your own penny

Take a photo of each side. Penny Value reads the date and the mint mark, tells you if it could be a 1909-S and what to check.

Check your own penny

Penny Value is an Android app for now, so it isn't on the App Store. The values and checks on this page are free to use.Penny Value is an Android app. Open this page on your Android phone to check your own penny with a photo.

How to identify it

Indian Head design dated 1909 with an S under the wreath on the tails side
Don't confuse it with the 1909-S Lincoln cent

What to check

What a genuine 1909-S shows:

S mint mark on the tails side (Indian Head): YesOn the tails side, is there a small letter S below the wreath, just above the rim at 6 o'clock?

To check yours, photograph

Mint mark on the back

Fakes and look-alikes

Added S mint marks exist. Have it authenticated by PCGS or NGC before buying or selling.

Specs

Series: Indian Head Cent (bronze)
Year: 1909
Mint: San Francisco
Mint mark: On the back, below the wreath
Metal: Bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
Weight: 3.11 g
Mintage: 309,000
Source: Wikipedia
Designer: James B. Longacre

Other 1909 pennies

1909
Philadelphia · 14.4 million made
$6.00worn
$63.00MS-60
1909 Proof
Philadelphia · Proof · 2,175 made
Proof
$140proof

1909 penny values · Every Indian Head Cent (bronze) · Penny value chart