Lot 1087
1864. Bronze. PCGS graded Proof 65 Red & Brown. Nearly full red. Decent mirrors with very few flaws. This issue is usually found close to brown and example with this much red are in very high demand. This is a popular one-year type coin with the design of the 1860-1864 copper-nickel issues and the bronze planchets begun this year. The necessity in changing the metal of the cent was brought on by the rapid inflation of the currency during the Civil War. Copper-nickel cents dissapeared from circulation or were offered at a 20% premium. Cheap private copper tokens successfully circulated in the Northern cities in their place. Faced with the choice of minting coins that were not being used or offering a Federal substitute for the tokens, Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase choose to substitute the metal in the cent with bronze.
Very few 1864 Bronze Indian Cents were struck. The classic mintage figure usually quoted is 150, but this estimate is not accurate in light of the numbers sent for certification. A revised mintage estimate of 300 is given by Rick Snow in his Flying Eagle and Indian Cent Attribution Guide. Housed in an Old Green Holder. Only 300 estimated struck. Pop 32; 14 finer, 13 in 66, 1 in 67. (PCGS # 2277) Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000
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| Realized $2,300 |
