I'm usually not into starting "guess the grade" strings, but I'm stuck at home in another wave of pandemic sickness so, what the heck? I am a fan of the the 1864 Bronze Cent. When the Philadelphia Mint switched from the copper-nickel to the bronze cents, they used the same group of dies to make the first bronze cents which did not have the "L" for "Longacre" on the ribbon. Later in the year, Longacre re-did his artwork and signed it with a tiny "L" that few people noticed. If they had noticed it, they probably would have raised a stink about it, like they did when Victor D. Brenner signed his Lincoln Cent design. The 1864 Bronze Cent is actually a minor one year type. The point of the bust of the Indian is shaped differently, and the "L" is not on the coin. Few people recognize that as a type. During my last show as a dealer, I had an 1864 Bronze out for sale that I intended to keep if it didn't sell. As it turned out another dealer bought it. It was the last coin I sold that day. Later, I decided to get another one, along with the the other two 1864 cents. Here it is. So what do you think it grades. We can discuss rarities later.
I think it is 65 RD. But, the pictures are fuzzy and even blowing them up I cannot tell if there are high-point luster rubs on the obverse, which would reduce my grade guess so I am giving it the benefit of the doubt. The reverse has what looks like a die crack (not a detraction for me but maybe for the grader) but has some small rim dings at K9.
Okay since no one has posted since 2:21 this afternoon, here the reveal: I bought this piece from Liz Cogin, who is one of the great ladies of numismatics. Now here is an issue to think about. When I building a set of Flying Eagle and Indian Cents in high school, I had more trouble filling the 1864 Bronze hole in my "Library of Coins" album than the 1864-L hole. It seemed like every 1864 Bronze coin I found had a problem, like a streak of corrosion. As for the 1864-L, I found that fairly quickly. I even cherry picked one out of group of so-so coins. It was green but not porous. I have heard some dealers say that the 1864 Bronze is harder to find than the 1864-L. Oddly enough the “Coin Facts” estimations of surviving pieces support that. According them there are 2,950. 1864 Bronze Cents in all grades, and 2,980, 1864-L coins. I think that those numbers are way too low, but they do show far more 1864 Bronze coins in Red Unc. than then 1864-L variety. (180, 1864-L / 450 1864 Bronze) So, what has your experience been with these coins? Let’s discuss it if you have ever collected or bought and sold them.
My impression as a collector is that the "no L" is a little scarcer. On the topic of the grade, everyone here that proffered a grade said it was "Red". How did this coin get graded "Red-Brown"? Is it a trick of the photography and it is really much more brown than is evident? Because it looks almost fully red to me.
The coin has a lot of red on it, but I guess they decided it wasn't enough. Back when I was dealer, I saw some better date coins, like an 1869, that looked to be full red, but it had been dipped. It was called R&B. This 1864 Bronze has not been dipped in my opinion. I would not have bought it otherwise.
It has more brown than what shows in these photos, mostly the obverse photo, not that much. “Red” must be RED! to qualify for that designation.
