1897 Indian, Throat Stick?

That's actually the lower left serif of a 1 digit poking out of the indian's neck. It's a misplaced date digit, and in F-VF condition the coin should bring between $40 and $50. I wouldn't say it's "nothing extremely spectacular" considering a normal 1897 cent in that grade is worth one-tenth what yours is worth.

I have been searching indians for the past few years and have seen hundreds of 1897 cents...I have only found three of these.

This is a very nice Indian variety. Your coin is nice condition also. Great find!!

If you get interested in finding out more about Indian Head cent varieties, you should check out the Fly-In Club. They also have a forum. The url is http://www.fly-inclub.org/talk/index.php. This is a great place and Rick Snow posts there.