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As with all wars, the Civil War brought about many economic changes to the United States. The federal government’s new paper money continued to lose value against gold and silver. By the middle of 1864, a $10 note would have less value than $4 in silver coins. The Confederate economy saw even worse valuations. The $10 Confederate note would buy less than $0.50 in silver coins. To combat devaluation, the federal government made it illegal to issue private one and two cent coins. This would be bad news for future numismatists and Civil War memorabilia because this would mark the end of Civil War tokens.
The final major variety for the Indian Head cent this year would be the 1864 “With L†Indian Head cent. It is not certain when the US Mint engraver James B. Longacre decided to add his initial “L†to Liberty’s ribbon, but many believe it was in time for the new bronze coins. However, because the Mint continued to use the same die for the copper-nickel cent for the new bronze coins, it is believed that the circulated mintage of the 1864 “With L†cent is roughly 5,000,000. Longacre’s initial would be minted on all Indian Head cents until the Mint would switch to the Lincoln Head cent.
The bronze Indian Head cents and the “With L†cents were circulated at the same time. It wasn’t until later that the engraver’s initial was noticed on the coin. Because of this, many of the coins surviving from this year are well worn. For those collecting the proof issues of Indian Head cents, the 1864 “With L†is the rarest proof date in the series.There are many varieties for this product, the most popular of which are repunched dates involving the digit 1 and 8 of “1864.