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World’s Smallest IHP??

AirmetTango

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Apr 14, 2017
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I spent some time today at a new-to-me park hoping to uncover some old stuff that previous hunters missed. Ended up digging a lot of pennies - in fact, for the first 90 minutes, I didn’t get my coil over anything but pennies and trash. Seven of those pennies were Wheaties, so that suckered me into thinking I might get lucky and find some silver. That never happened, but I did end up with one pretty unique target. I had already dug a couple copper memorials and a Zincoln when I got over a slightly jumpy high tone, varying between 21-25, but mostly staying in the lower end of that range. Could be junk, but it was reading pretty deep at 8” - gotta dig that! Hoping for at least a Wheat, I was surprised to have my pinpointer alert as soon as I had flipped a 4” deep plug. Worse yet, I was having trouble nailing down the object - dang it...it’s probably an itty-bitty washer or rivet! After a brief struggle, I finally spotted it - a teeny circular disc...sigh.

But then I noticed some fine detail...giving it a slight rub, I was astounded to recognize all the features of an Indian Head Cent - in miniature!! Clean up at home took some patience - the back was sporting a hefty splotch of old glue. I was eventually able to gently chip away at the glue, and got most of it off. It really has an amazing amount of detail for its size, and it appears to actually be copper! At first I was baffled about why it was made and how it came to be glued onto something, but then a Google search revealed lots of examples of these used as earrings with a post glued to the back:

Miniature Indian Head Coin Earrings

I doubt it’s very old, but it’s still a pretty fun find!
 

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It may not be an official U.S. minted I. H.
But I'd have to say that it's got to be rarer than a 09 s or a 1877.
and certainly a key Indian ! :cool3:
 
I got one too. It was just a few foot from a historical marker about a stage coach stop. I thought I really had something special.
P1090189.jpg
 
Most of the time the water and dirt makes them crusty, but in your case it shrunk. I love the fact that they paid attention to such detail on the front and the back. Very unique!
 
They used to sell those miniature coins in all different kinds; pennies, dimes, quarters, etc. Back before they had pinpointers I was hunting a schoolyard just as it was getting dark. I got a strong signal on my last hole. I removed dirt until the signal disappeared. Searching the dirt I couldn't find anything. I refilled the hole to get the signal again. I did this several times in the dark before finally finding a miniature dime. I have found several since then.
 
Miniature replica coins were used as a novelty item to emphasize the inflation problem in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. They were contained in a pouch with a miniature replica cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar. Other versions had minature replicas of United States gold coins as well.
 
That is a odd find being that small Ben. Still you got out with a great story and a few Wheat's with it. That 1903 Indian (comparison coin) is a great looking coin with beautiful patina. Trapper
 
Wow , that's a very cool find .If I would have found it I might have suspected I had entered the "Twilight Zone" . Congrats !

Thanks Soil Surgeon! It really was a bizarre experience, going from annoyed to suddenly amused and interested as I realized it was something more than just a nondescript disk!

Never seen or heard of that. It would make some cool ear rings too.

At first, I had one of those “What the??” moments, too! But the more I think about it, I’m pretty sure I got a miniature Lincoln Memorial cent as a gag gift at some point when I was a kid, probably in the early 80s. If I remember right, it was about the same size.

It may not be an official U.S. minted I. H.
But I'd have to say that it's got to be rarer than a 09 s or a 1877.
and certainly a key Indian ! :cool3:

:lol: I imagine it’s pretty unlikely I’ll find another one! I’m tempted to drill a tiny hole into my Whitman IHP book where I keep my better Injuns to give it a place of honor at least as a conversation piece :yes:
 
Believe it or not they are quite common. They have plenty listed on E-bay. Here is a link to an example : https://www.ebay.com/itm/1903-US-In...245352?hash=item36506847a8:g:HwwAAOSwufFdG-Kp

Holy shrunken inflation!! Fifteen bucks!! If he gets that, it’s more than an actual 1903 IHP in Extremely Fine condition!!! I suspect his might go unsold...:shock:

I got one too. It was just a few foot from a historical marker about a stage coach stop. I thought I really had something special.
View attachment 454014

Still a pretty unique find, Scooter...but yeah, that’s an awful tease coming from a stage stop! Does it have the back detail on the coin portion also?
 
Awesome find Ben, and the detail is phenomenal. Wonder how long it was in the ground. Again congrats. HH Mark

Cool find, it's in amazing condition considering how long it was probably lost!

Thanks Mark! Thanks zeemang! It really does have some accurate detail - amazingly true to the original! It’s hard to say how long it was in the ground, and I guess I’ll probably never know. It seems to have as much of a patina as the Wheats, though (other than the back where the glue was protecting the copper, and I scrubbed a bit more in general to get the glue off). Along with the depth, I guess it’s possible it was lost as early as the 50s or 60s? But probably more likely to be 70s, 80s, or 90s - that timeframe seems to fit better for an earring of that style. Maybe I can figure out who mints them and then find out when they were first made??

interesting

...and unexpected!

Pretty cool! Congrats! [emoji106]

Thanks Mike!
 
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