Farmer Finds 1863 Indian Cent in Illinois

Illinois cattle rancher Rich Stierwalt was not metal detecting, searching an abandoned homestead or digging through an inherited collection when he found a coin from the Civil War era. He was simply crossing his pasture to repair an electric fence when an ordinary brick caught his attention.

According to the ANA Reading Room’s account of the Illinois farm discovery, Stierwalt picked up the brick and noticed a cent lying in the bare dirt underneath. He later used a flashlight to examine the coin closely enough to read the date: 1863.

That made his find an Indian cent struck while the Civil War was still underway. PCGS records a mintage of 49,840,000 for the 1863 issue, making it the highest-mintage copper-nickel Indian cent from 1860 through 1864.

The coin is not a major rarity simply because of the date, but that is not what makes the discovery memorable. A piece of American money made more than 160 years ago survived generations of changing land use, weather and farming before appearing beside an electric fence on property that had once been too swampy to cultivate.

TL;DR

Unexpected find: Stierwalt discovered the cent while crossing his Illinois cattle pasture to repair an electric fence.
Civil War date: A flashlight helped him identify the date as 1863.
Indian cent: The coin belongs to the early copper-nickel Indian Head cent series.
Large mintage: The Philadelphia Mint struck 49,840,000 examples in 1863.
Not automatically rare: Ordinary circulated examples remain relatively obtainable.
Condition matters: Soil exposure, corrosion, scratches and previous cleaning can significantly affect collector value.
The location adds mystery: The property was reportedly too swampy for farming during the 1860s.
Collector lesson: A relatively common old coin can still become an exceptional discovery when its location gives it a story no dealer-bought example can duplicate.

The Coin Appeared During an Ordinary Farm Chore

Nothing about Stierwalt’s day suggested that he was about to uncover something from the 1860s. He was walking across his cattle pasture to repair an electric fence when he noticed a brick on the ground and moved it.

The original discovery story says he could tell there was a penny in the exposed dirt. After getting a flashlight, he was able to make out the date clearly enough to identify it as 1863.

That detail is part of what makes this such a good coin story. There was no planned treasure hunt, expensive detector or excavation. The coin was sitting in a place Stierwalt happened to notice while doing an ordinary job around the farm.

For another example of how coins can surface without a traditional treasure hunt, Silverpicker’s video about coins found in unusual places shows why collectors sometimes discover interesting material simply by paying attention to what other people overlook.

It Was Not an Obvious Coin Hoard

Nothing in the report suggests Stierwalt uncovered a jar, purse or organized cache. The 1863 cent appears to have been a single lost coin, which leaves far more possibilities for how it reached the pasture.

Someone could have dropped it while crossing the property decades after it was struck. Agricultural work or drainage projects could have moved it. Flooding, erosion or imported soil may also have shifted it from another location.

Without more historical evidence, choosing one explanation would turn speculation into fact. What we know is simpler and more interesting: a Civil War-era cent eventually ended up beneath a brick on an Illinois cattle farm.

An 1863 Cent Comes Directly From the Civil War Era

The United States was in the middle of the Civil War when the Philadelphia Mint produced this cent. That gives the date an immediate historical connection even though there is no evidence that Stierwalt’s individual coin belonged to a soldier or circulated near a battlefield.

Indian cents were everyday money. Coins like this moved through stores, farms, transportation routes and households, making an 1863 example a small surviving object from the economy Americans actually used during the conflict.

The 1863 Cent Belongs to the Copper-Nickel Type

The Indian cent series began in 1859, but the early pieces were physically different from the later bronze cents many collectors recognize. PCGS lists the 1863 business strike at 88% copper and 12% nickel, with a weight of 4.70 grams, a 19-millimeter diameter and a plain edge.

The nickel content gave these cents a much lighter appearance than later bronze Indian cents. The copper-nickel composition continued through part of 1864 before the Mint shifted the denomination to bronze.

Collectors interested in this specific series can also watch Silverpicker’s guide to Indian Head cents worth collecting, which places individual dates and conditions into a broader collector context.

Nearly 50 Million Were Struck

The Philadelphia Mint produced 49,840,000 1863 Indian cents. PCGS identifies the date as the highest-mintage issue among the copper-nickel Indian cents and notes that it remains relatively available through many collectible grades.

That large original production helps explain why a worn example is not automatically a major rarity. Still, “common” means something different when you are talking about a coin made more than 160 years ago.

Most collectors can buy an 1863 Indian cent.

Very few will discover one under a brick while fixing a fence.

How Much Is an 1863 Indian Cent Worth?

The answer depends heavily on condition.

NGC’s current guide places circulated 1863 Indian cents across a broad range beginning around $12.50, with values rising substantially as the grade improves. High-end Mint State examples occupy a completely different market from ordinary circulated pieces.

That does not mean the pasture coin should automatically receive one of those published values. A coin exposed to soil may have environmental problems that separate it from normally circulated examples with original surfaces.

Soil Can Damage More Than the Details

A ground-found copper-nickel cent can develop corrosion, pitting, stains, mineral deposits, rough surfaces or edge damage. Those problems differ from ordinary circulation wear and can reduce numismatic appeal even when the date and major design elements remain readable.

This is where knowing how to value old coins becomes useful. Date and mintage matter, but condition, damage, authenticity and actual collector demand have to be considered before putting a price on a find.

Cleaning Can Make the Situation Worse

A dirty ground find creates an obvious temptation to scrub away the soil so more detail becomes visible. For a collectible coin, aggressive polishing or chemical treatment can permanently alter the surface and make the piece less desirable.

The safer approach is to identify the coin first, photograph its original condition and avoid treating a potentially collectible surface like ordinary dirty metal. Once the coin has been altered, the original appearance cannot be restored.

High Mintage Does Not Mean Every Example Is Equal

A mintage figure tells us how many coins were originally produced. It does not tell us how many survived for more than a century or how many remain attractive enough to satisfy demanding collectors.

Millions of 1863 cents were lost, damaged, corroded or heavily worn. Others remain collectible but may have cleaning, spotting or surface problems that limit their desirability.

Survival Changes the Rarity Picture

Collectors therefore ask questions that go beyond the original 49.84 million mintage:

How many examples survive?
How many have problem-free surfaces?
How many remain in Mint State?
How many have strong strikes?
How many retain attractive color?
How many survive at the very top grades?

Those differences are why coins worth money cannot be identified by age alone. The date may get a collector’s attention, but preservation and demand often determine whether a specific example is ordinary or exceptional.

High-Grade 1863 Cents Become a Different Market

PCGS records an auction high of $24,000 for an MS67 1863 cent, demonstrating how far the upper end of the market can move from the value of a circulated example.

That does not suggest a coin recovered from pasture soil is worth anything close to that amount. It demonstrates why two coins with the exact same date can have radically different values.

The date identifies the coin.

The condition helps identify the market.

The Farm’s History Makes the Coin Harder to Explain

Stierwalt’s description of the land creates another layer of mystery. The area where the farm sits was reportedly too swampy for agriculture when the cent was struck, and later drainage improvements made the property suitable for farming.

His grandfather entered farming during the 1920s and later purchased the property, while Stierwalt moved onto the land in 1977, according to the farmer’s discovery account.

That timeline means we should not assume someone dropped the cent there in 1863.

Old Coins Could Circulate Long After Their Dates

An 1863 cent did not stop functioning as money when the Civil War ended. Lower-denomination coins could remain in circulation for years, which means someone may have carried this piece onto the property long after its original issue.

The date tells us when the Mint produced the cent.

It does not tell us when somebody lost it.

Agricultural Land Moves Constantly

A farm is also very different from an untouched archaeological site. Drainage projects, plowing, livestock, erosion, flooding, fence work, road construction and imported fill can all move soil and small objects.

That means the place where Stierwalt spotted the cent may not be the same place where its original owner dropped it.

The mystery remains because the coin survived but its chain of ownership did not.

Could More Old Coins Be Nearby?

One isolated cent does not prove that a cache or forgotten historic site exists nearby. It does give Stierwalt a reason to pay closer attention to the history of the property and the places where people may once have gathered.

Random searching can be fun, but historical research can make that search much more focused.

Look for Earlier Human Activity

Potential areas worth researching include former house sites, demolished barns, old roads, wells, historic fence lines, field entrances and locations affected by major drainage projects.

Old maps, property records and family photographs may reveal features that have completely disappeared from the modern landscape. Coins are generally lost where people spent time, so locating those areas can make more sense than treating every acre equally.

Document the Exact Find Spot

If another old coin or artifact eventually appears, the location of the first find suddenly becomes more important.

I would record the approximate coordinates on a private property map, the date of discovery, soil conditions, nearby structures and photographs of the coin before cleaning or further handling. Several period objects clustered together can tell a much stronger historical story than one isolated discovery.

Silverpicker’s video about finding valuable coins at garage sales makes a related collecting point. Old coins often survive where nobody expects them, and recognizing what appears is usually more important than assuming every old-looking object is valuable.

Ground Finds Need a Different Evaluation Process

A coin purchased from an established dealer usually arrives already identified. A pasture find starts with far less certainty, which means identification should come before an ambitious valuation.

The first goal is confirming exactly what the coin is. The next is understanding whether wear, corrosion or other surface problems affect how collectors would treat it.

Confirm the Basic Attribution First

An 1863 Indian cent should show the major characteristics expected for the issue, including the Indian Head obverse, 1863 date, wreath-and-shield reverse, one-cent denomination and copper-nickel composition.

PCGS identifies James Barton Longacre as the designer and Philadelphia as the mint of origin for the regular 1863 issue.

Grade and Surface Quality Are Different Questions

A coin can retain enough design detail to suggest a particular circulated grade while also having environmental damage that affects its marketability.

That is why Silverpicker’s PCGS grading guide is useful even when a coin may never be submitted for certification. Understanding the difference between normal wear and surface problems helps prevent a collector from valuing a damaged coin as though it were a problem-free example at the same apparent detail level.

Collectors dealing with a newly inherited or discovered group of coins can also watch Silverpicker’s old coin collection mistakes before moving, cleaning or selling anything important.

The Historical Value Can Be Better Than the Dollar Value

One of the strongest parts of this discovery is that the cent does not need to be financially rare to matter.

A lower-grade 1863 Indian cent remains affordable enough that collectors can deliberately purchase one. Finding the same date on family property creates a completely different relationship with the object.

This Coin Connects the Farm With Another Century

A dealer-bought coin can have cleaner surfaces, a higher grade and a stronger market value.

Stierwalt’s cent has something else.

It raises a question that cannot be answered simply by reading a price guide: Who brought this coin onto the property?

The owner may never be known. That missing history is what transforms an otherwise obtainable date into a personal historical object.

Common Coins Can Create Uncommon Experiences

The word “common” is useful when comparing one date with another. It is much less useful for describing the experience of unexpectedly finding a 160-year-old coin beneath a brick.

An Indian cent specialist may own several 1863 examples.

Very few collectors will discover one while walking out to fix an electric fence.

That distinction matters because collecting is not only about scarcity measured in population reports. Sometimes the circumstances of the find become the reason a coin is worth keeping.

A Civil War Cent Set Can Turn One Find Into a Collection

A discovery like this can also become the starting point for a focused collection rather than an isolated curiosity.

The early 1860s offer a compact group of Indian cents tied directly to the Civil War and to an important composition change in U.S. coinage.

A Simple Four-Year Civil War Cent Group

A collector could build around:

1861 Indian cent: The opening year of the Civil War
1862 Indian cent: A wartime copper-nickel issue
1863 Indian cent: The highest-mintage copper-nickel date of the period
1864 Indian cent: The transition year from copper-nickel to bronze

This is a manageable historical theme because the dates tell a connected story rather than forming a random pile of old cents.

Collectors who enjoy that approach can watch Silverpicker’s video on building a U.S. type set for a broader way to organize coins around changing designs and types instead of chasing every possible date and mintmark.

For beginners, Silverpicker’s guide on how to start a coin collection can also help turn one exciting find into a collecting plan with clearer limits and goals.

My Takeaway: The Story Is Better Than the Price Tag

It would be easy to reduce Stierwalt’s discovery to one question: How much is the coin worth?

For an ordinary circulated 1863 Indian cent, the answer may be modest. Nearly 50 million were struck, and circulated examples remain accessible to collectors.

That does not make this an ordinary discovery.

Stierwalt picked up a brick while crossing his pasture to repair an electric fence and found a coin made during the Civil War sitting underneath it. The property itself had changed from swampy ground to farmland over generations, and somewhere along that timeline the cent became part of the landscape.

We may never know who dropped it, when it arrived or how many times the surrounding soil moved before Stierwalt noticed it. That uncertainty gives the coin something a price guide cannot measure.

Coins are small enough to disappear and durable enough to survive long after their owners are gone. They can sit unnoticed while properties change hands, roads move and generations pass.

Then someone moves a brick and a date from another century appears again.

Frequently Asked Questions About the 1863 Indian Cent

How much is an 1863 Indian cent worth?

Value depends heavily on condition. The NGC 1863 cent price guide lists circulated examples beginning around $12.50, with values increasing significantly as preservation improves.

How many 1863 Indian cents were made?

PCGS reports a mintage of 49,840,000 regular-strike coins. All were produced at Philadelphia.

Is the 1863 Indian cent rare?

Not in ordinary circulated grades. PCGS considers the date comparatively obtainable among the copper-nickel Indian cents, although exceptional high-grade examples are much scarcer.

What is an 1863 Indian cent made of?

The coin contains 88% copper and 12% nickel and weighs 4.70 grams. It belongs to the thicker copper-nickel type used before the transition to bronze in 1864.

Should you clean an old coin found in the ground?

Collectors should avoid aggressive cleaning because brushing, polishing and chemicals can permanently alter the surface. Identify and document the coin first before deciding whether any conservation is appropriate.

Why is an 1863 cent considered a Civil War-era coin?

The coin was struck in 1863 while the United States was actively fighting the Civil War. Its date alone gives it a direct chronological connection with the period even without a documented battlefield or military provenance.