In Sadorus, Ill., a cattle producer says he was just checking an electric fence when a single penny gave him a story he loves to tell.
Rich Stierwalt was walking across the pasture to check the electric fence when he noticed a brick lying on the ground and picked it up.
“I could see there was a coin lying there in the bare dirt, and I could tell it was a penny,” Stierwalt says. “I got a flashlight, and I could read 1863. That was unbelievable.”
A Civil War-Era Penny
Stierwalt says the year — 1863 — means the penny was struck in the middle of the Civil War era. While one cent might sound small, he says the find instantly felt huge, and he started making calls.
He believes there was hardly anybody living in the area in 1863. The closest town was founded in 1828, but the ground was too swampy to farm until the late 1800s when people dug drainage ditches and laid tile to make them more productive.
Illinois played a major role in the Civil War as a Union troop and supply contributor. It did not, however, experience the intensive fighting on its own soil that happened in some Eastern states. It is anyone’s guess how long the penny was on Stierwalt’s property. Once a penny was minted in the U.S. at that time, it was intended to circulate for the long term.
But for Stierwalt, the story connects directly to the place where his family worked the land. His grandpa started farming in the 1920s and he was able to purchase the property. Stierwalt married and moved in during 1977.
Why Liberty Matters On Coins
In the coin collecting world, the penny is an Indian Head cent — minted from 1859 to 1909 — and it carries the likeness of Liberty with a feathered headdress. Liberty is a popular recurring figure on American coins, often shown as a woman, and meant to represent ideals the nation says she stands for, but she’s changed over the years.
In a video published online by the U.S. Mint, Chief Engraver Joseph Menna describes a modern “Liberty” design choice in 2024 as more about people seeing themselves in the symbol.
“I wanted to present a Liberty who wasn’t wearing a tiara or a crown,” Menna says. “Her hair was wild, and the stars are freely floating around her head. I wanted people to be able to see themselves in this Liberty. I want her to represent all Americans.”
Menna says coins are art that people hold in their hand, and that rotating the coin offers a participatory element.
What Happens to Rich’s Penny?
In Sadorus, where Stierwalt is trying to figure out what happens to a nearly 160-year-old coin found by accident in his pasture, he says he’s taking a careful approach after advice from an expert.
“I talked to an expert and he said, don’t try to clean it up yourself,” he says. “He gave me an address to mail it in and they will clean it up properly and grade it and mail it back to me.”
Stierwalt says he won’t sell the penny and calls it “pretty cool.”
Today, an 1863 Indian Head cent can range widely depending on grade. NGC’s price guide listings for an 1863 Indian Head cent in circulated condition show values from about $12.50 up to around $170, with higher prices possible for better preservation.
A few last facts: The U.S. Mint made 49,840,000 Indian Head cents in 1863. As of last fall, pennies are no longer minted in the U.S. The final circulating U.S. penny was officially pressed by the United States Mint in November 2025, ending 232 years of production because manufacturing costs had risen to nearly four cents per coin.
