Indian Head Cent 1864 BZ G-VG

Lincoln won his reelection in 1864, winning only 55% of the popular vote. Interestingly, he beat his former commander of Union forces, George McClellan, who was removed from his office only two years before. On a much smaller front, there was one small change to coinage in the year 1864. Many Americans, distressed with the continued war with their brethren, found a renewed peace with God. Starting this year, some coins would include the motto “In God We Trust”.

Although the Indian Head cent of 1864 saw many changes this year, the new motto would not display on the penny. From this year onward, all Indian Head cents would be made from bronze. This product specifically is called the Bronze Indian Head cent although it is sometimes referred to as the “No L” Indian Head cent. In late April, Congress passed legislation not only forcing all cents to be made of bronze, but making all private coinage illegal. This basically put an end to all Civil War Tokens. Even though the die remained unchanged for the Bronze Indian Head cent, the coin was very popular as it was thinner and less cumbersome than its predecessor. The bronze makeup of the cent actually would remain virtually unchanged until 1982, when the US Mint would switch to a zinc coated in copper.

This variety would prove to be the most widely circulated cent from the year. It had a total mintage of 34,000,000 and remained in circulation just having missed the Civil War coinage crisis. Most surviving specimens are found in good to very good condition. Although the recorded mintage number of proof pennies from 1864 is only 150, it appears more than 200 proof coins have been graded, so the realistic number could be over twice that amount.

There is one popular variety for the Bronze Indian Head cent this year. There is a clear double die in the word “Liberty” on Liberty’s forehead. It is a very rare but popular variety. Other varieties from this you include only repunched dates.

• Denomination: Cent
• Year: 1864
• Diameter: 19mm
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: 1.5mm
• Grade: Ungraded