Certified Brown Percentage: 32%
Certified Red and Brown Percentage: 55%
Certified Red Percentage: 9%
Certified Cameo Percentage: 4%

The Proof 1897 Indian cent is an underrated rarity among the late dates from this series. With a relatively small mintage of 1,938 Proofs, it rivals the 1896 as the scarcest Proof Indian cent in full Red Gem from the late 1890s. 731 of this mintage were intended for sale as part of the year's silver Proof sets, while the remaining 1,207 examples went into minor coin Proof sets. Today, the Proof 1897 cent is most often found in grades of Proof-64 or lower, with many having been cleaned or mishandled over the past century. While DCAM Proof Indians are extraordinarily rare, with fewer than twenty pieces certified by both services in nearly 40 years, if you must own one, the 1897 would be your best candidate.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the January 2013 Americana Auction, where it realized $10,575.