1864 Indian Head Cent, Bronze (L on ribbon)
Variety of the 1864 Indian Head Cent struck at the Philadelphia Mint
- Mintage
- Not recorded
- Metal
- 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
- Weight
- 3.11 g
- Diameter
- 19 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1864 Indian Head Cent, Bronze (L on ribbon) worth?
Value depends entirely on whether the coin is genuine and on its condition. Have any candidate authenticated before you buy or sell.
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1864 Indian Head Cent, Bronze (L on ribbon) rare?
- Yes. It's a variety or error, not a regular issue.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1864 Indian Head Cent?
- No mint mark. Philadelphia struck every Indian cent until 1908.
What to check on your 1864
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1864 Indian Head Cent Proof, Copper-Nickel (370 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. In Very Fine, all five letters of LIBERTY on the headband are visible; collectors also look at the feather tips and the "diamonds" on the ribbon. Color is graded too: Red (RD), Red-Brown (RB) and Brown (BN).
Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1864
Bronze cents and the L on the ribbon (1864 to 1872)
The popularity of thin bronze Civil War tokens showed that people would accept a lighter cent. The Act of April 22, 1864 changed the cent to bronze, cutting the weight from 4.67 to 3.11 grams. The Mint struck both copper-nickel and bronze cents that year. Later in 1864 Longacre added his initial L to the ribbon behind the neck. The 1864 bronze with L is a scarce variety.
Once the war ended, minor coins flooded back into circulation. An 1871 law let banks redeem surplus cents. Production fell from about 10 million in 1868 to just over 5 million in 1870 and about 4 million in 1871 and 1872, which makes those three dates scarce today. Bronze coins of this era tone from red to brown. Survivors with full diamonds and a complete LIBERTY are prized.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1864
The Act of April 22, 1864 changed the cent from copper-nickel to thinner bronze and created the two-cent piece. The two-cent piece was the first US coin to carry the motto "In God We Trust".
How to recognize it
Liberty wears a feathered headdress with LIBERTY on the band, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the date below. The 1859 reverse is a laurel wreath around ONE CENT; from 1860 an oak wreath with a small shield at the top was used. Coins from 1864 on are bronze and from partway through 1864 they show the designer's initial L on the ribbon behind Liberty's neck. Mint marks (only S, 1908 and 1909) are below the wreath on the reverse.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Indian Head Cent (1859–1909) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1864 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | Not recorded |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc (bronze) |
| Weight | 3.11 grams |
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Other 1864 Indian Head Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1864 Indian Head Cent, Copper-Nickel | 13,740,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1864 Indian Head Cent, Bronze | 39,233,714 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1864 Indian Head Cent, Bronze (L on ribbon) | – | Variety | – |
| 1864 Indian Head Cent Proof, Copper-Nickel | 370 | Proof | – |
| 1864 Indian Head Cent Proof, Bronze | 150 | Proof | – |
| 1864 Indian Head Cent Proof, Bronze (L on ribbon) | 35 | Proof | – |
Mintage: United States cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.