Hello, I found this awhile back its a 1864 indian head cent with a 180 degree reverse. Just wondering how much this is worth? The only info I can find on it is from a coin census Known varieties . Its a rarity 4 82 to 200 known.
Hi, Not much more than a normal 1864 cent. Rotated dies are fairly common on Indian Head cents. There are several varieties of 1864 cent. If the coin is fairly thick (I can't tell what you have from the picture) it is a copper-nickel piece. If it is a little thinner (similar to a modern cent) it is made of bronze. Of the bronze ones, there are two varieties. You need a pretty good magnifier to tell though. There is a small segment of ribbon between the bottom feather and the hair on the back of the neck of the portrait of the Indian. On that small portion of the design, there may or may not be a small letter "L". That will help you determine which variety of 1864 cent you have. Give us a little more info and perhaps a better picture so we can grade the coin as best we can and some here will be able to give you an idea of what it is worth. In the overall scheme of things 1864 cents with rotated dies are encountered fairly regularly. Thanks, Bill
Hi, It also should be noted that , if by chance , that information as to the number of coins known came from a printed source or the rotated die census on the internet that those numbers are merely a compilation of reports from the few people that know to report them. For example, I have two bronze 1864 cents with 180 degree rotated dies here that noone knows about. There could be hundreds out there that have never been found or reported. There could be hundreds of them sitting in collections that have gone unnoticed. Rarity scales on things like this are by their nature not accurate and closer to guesswork than fact. Thanks, Bill
One last thing, look for the little "L". I adjusted the brightness on your image and you have one of the bronze versions of the coin.
An easier way to tell if it is the "L" variety is if it has a pointed or rounded bust. If it is pointed it is an "L" variety.
Hi, Welcome to Coin Talk! Die rotation is fairly common on coins minted in the 1800's! There is really not a lot of sales history on such errors on eBay, so it is really hard to put a price on the coin. Also, without a picture of both the Obverse (front) and Reverse (back) of the coin, so that a grade can be determined, it is even harder to give a price! I would bet that the ornate mirror is worth a lot more! Frank
Actually the best way to tell if it's an "L" cent is to just snap a picture of the obverse and post it here. There are a number of people here (myself included) who can tell you in a flash which you have. It's important, because the difference in value could be quite large.
