Certified Brown Percentage: 14%
Certified Red and Brown Percentage: 61%
Certified Red Percentage: 15%
Certified Cameo Percentage: 10%

The year 1878 is significant in the small cent series for it is the first in which mintage figures for Proof minor coins are included in the Annual Report of the Director of the Mint. Prior to 1878 the Mint did not record the number of such coins produced, leaving numismatic scholars to estimate mintages based on the number of silver Proof sets produced (Proof mintages for silver coins were first recorded in 1859). According to the mint director's report, 2,350 Proof cents were struck in 1878. Rick Snow (2014) has identified six die varieties for this issue, and the typical survivor is well made with strong technical quality. The 1878 is also the most common Proof Indian cent with the Cameo designation.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Spring 2023 Showcase Auction, where it realized $1,560.