1864 Indian Head Penny, L on ribbon Value

1864 Indian Head Cent, L on ribbon

Key date

Longacre’s L appears on the ribbon on this 1864 bronze variety.

1864 Indian Head Penny, L on ribbon: front (type example, 1860 Indian Head cent) — Type example: 1860 Indian Head cent and 1860 wreath and shield reverse. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. This example is copper-nickel (pale); bronze Indian Head pennies, made from 1864, look coppery.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; front, back)

1864 Indian Head Penny, L on ribbon: back (type example, 1860 wreath and shield reverse) — Type example: 1860 Indian Head cent and 1860 wreath and shield reverse. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. This example is copper-nickel (pale); bronze Indian Head pennies, made from 1864, look coppery.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; front, back)

Value by condition

Penny Value estimate · values as of Q4 2026

Worn (Good to Very Fine)

$50.00 – $140

G-4 – VF-20

Uncirculated (MS-60)

$450

Brown

By grade

Typical value at each grade and colour. Penny Value estimate.
Grade	Brown	Red-Brown	Red
G-4Good	$50.00	—	—
VG-8Very Good	$76.00	—	—
F-12Fine	$110	—	—
VF-20Very Fine	$140	—	—
XF-40Extremely Fine	$210	—	—
AU-50About Uncirculated	$250	—	—
MS-60Mint State (Uncirculated)	$450	$470	—
MS-63Mint State (Uncirculated)	$690	$730	$1,600
MS-65Mint State (Uncirculated)	$2,000	$2,200	$4,700

Values as of Q4 2026 · Penny Value estimate · based on 6 recorded sales

Penny Value estimate, 2026-Q4, from public sale records, mintage and survival data. It isn't a price guide or an offer.

How Penny Value estimates values

Check your own penny

Take a photo of each side. Penny Value reads the date and the mint mark, tells you if it could be a 1864 L on ribbon and what to check.

Check your own penny

Penny Value is an Android app for now, so it isn't on the App Store. The values and checks on this page are free to use.Penny Value is an Android app. Open this page on your Android phone to check your own penny with a photo.

How to identify it

Bronze 1864 with a tiny L (for Longacre) on the ribbon behind the neck
The L wears away fast; the bust tip is pointed on L coins
Take a close-up of the ribbon

What to check

What a genuine 1864 L on ribbon shows:

L on the ribbon (1864 bronze Indian): YesOn the ribbon behind Liberty's neck, is there a tiny letter L?

To check yours, photograph

Headband ribbon close-up

Fakes and look-alikes

Worn no-L coins are sometimes sold as L coins; tooled L letters exist.

Specs

Series: Indian Head Cent (bronze)
Year: 1864
Mint: Philadelphia (no mint mark)
Mint mark: On the back, below the wreath
Metal: Bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
Weight: 3.11 g
Mintage: Part of the 39,233,714 bronze 1864 cents (the L was added late in the year); not counted separately.
Source: Wikipedia
Designer: James B. Longacre

Other varieties of this date

1864 bronze no L
Philadelphia · Part of the 39,233,714 bronze 1864 cents; the L and no-L split isn't published.
$6.00worn
$170MS-60

Other 1864 pennies

1864 copper-nickel
Philadelphia · 13.7 million made
$41.00worn
$190MS-60
1864 Proof
Philadelphia · Proof · 370 made
Proof
$1,800proof
1864 Proof
Philadelphia · Proof · 150 made
Proof
$200proof

1864 penny values · Every Indian Head Cent (bronze) · Penny value chart