Interestingly, the Indian cent name is a misnomer, as the female figure on the coin's obverse is not a Native American but rather a Caucasian figure of Miss Liberty wearing a feathered headdress meant to depict, if inaccurately, a style of head adornment similar to those worn by some native peoples. Longacre and released in 1859 as a replacement for the Flying Eagle motif, which debuted in 1856 and became the nation's first small cent. Indian cents were designed by United States Mint Chief Engraver James B.
