Last week Roger Burdette shared a letter from the Director of the Mint enclosing "...the first One Cent Bronze Coin struck in the United States mints in the year 1912." I asked if any such coins have turned up with accompanying Mint documentation. Daryl Haynor submitted these images of a 1909 Philadelphia Indian Cent with "First piece coined" documentation. Thanks! -Editor

"I have a frame hanging on my office wall. It bears a 1901 Philadelphia strike Indian Cent, a letter from Assistant Coiner Robert Clark addressed to Superintendent Henry K. Boyer, along with a couple envelopes.

I acquired the unit about 35 years ago. I have never undertaken any research on it and have accepted it at face value. Reputedly it is the Third Cent coined in new Mint – Philadelphia / Oct. 1 . / 1901 . Interesting to say the least."

Indeed, quite interesting! Thanks, everyone.

These are evidence of an occasional but approved Mint practice in 1901, 1909 and 1912. Likely this took place in intervening years as well. A new research question is - when did this practice begin and end? What are the earliest and latest such coins that might be found with their documentation? -Editor

"We already know that Philadelphia made "Master coins" or production samples for some of the mints to introduce new designs (Eagles at New Orleans, some of the false "branch mint proofs" are likely these pieces. But was there something more routine in cranking out "souvenir first strike coins" for the Secretary, or was this a kind of competition between mints to see who could make the first coin of the new year? (That seems implied from the 1912 letter....)

"PS: This 1912 letter is in a large batch of presscopy volumes digitized last month, so I have not gone through everything. It's the only letter of it's kind I've seen so far."