FLYING EAGLE 1856 - 1858
Small Cents begin with the Flying Eagle Cents of1856 to 1858, a short but interesting & challenging series.
By 1851, it was costing the Mint $1.06 to strike a dollar of a cent; the cost of producing Large Cents exceeded their value. As the cost of producing Large Cents exceeded their value, experimental Cent patterns and various proposals for a practical metal composition for a Small Cent began to be explored.
Mint Director James R. Snowden decided to strike a Small Centof 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel at a weight of 4.67 grams. Snowden didn’t choose this mix at random. He was being lobbied heavily by Joseph Wharton (and his monopoly of nickel mines) to use an alloy including this Nickel.
The flying eagle design appearing on the reverse of the GobrechtSilver Dollars of 1836 to 1839 was adopted by Snowden for the new Small Cent. The wreath on the reverse of the new Small Cents was borrowed from the reverse design on the Gold Dollar and the $3 coin denominations designed by James B. Longacre.
Snowden ordered about 1,000 1856 Flying Eagle Cents struck without official authorization. Therefore, from a legal standpoint, all 1856 Flying Eagle Cents may be considered to have been illegally struck and issued (as with the 1804 Silver Dollar and the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel).
It is not known exactly how many 1856 cents were produced, but estimates range anywhere from 1,500 to about 2,150 examples. At least 634 were given to politicians and other well-connected people. During 1858 and 1859, more were restruck using the original dies. Not all restrikes can be differentiated from the original strikes.
These are the rare “Style of 1856” variety (with a squared O in OF and other diagnostics), and the so-called regular variety.
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The 1857 issue was struck following the Act of Feb. 21, 1857, authorizing Small Cents. Unlike the 1856 issue, that of 1857 is officially authorized. The 1857 Flying Eagle Cents were very popular with the public and saved in large quantities. The coins were so popular, that the Mint set up booths in the Mint yard to sell the coins to the public. Many were put aside that’s why it is not so hard to find them today even in high grades.
The production of Flying Eagle cent continues into 1858. There are a few popular major varieties of the 1858 Flying Eagle: Large Letters, Small Letters, and 1858/7 overdate rarity only discovered in recent years. This overdate is believed to be a refurbished 1857 die with the 8 added later. Based on the PCGS Population Report, the Large Letters variety appears to be the most common (the Small Letters has a population that is 58% lower than that of the Large Letters).
No one knows for certain why Snowden quickly changed from the Flying Eagle to the Indian Head design, but the difficulty of getting good strikes of the former may have been a factor.
small letters
large letters
Look for traces of 7, obverse die chip, and broken wing tip
TO COMPLETE THE SERIES YOU WOULD NEED
PROOF AND REGULAR STRIKE FLYING EAGLES
Regular Strike:
1856 Flying Eagle
1857 Flying Eagle
1858 Small Letters
1858 Large Letters
Proofs:
1856 Flying Eagle
1857 Flying Eagle
1858 Large Letters
1858/(7) Weak
1858 Small Letters
1858/7 Strong
1856 Flying Eagle in grade MS 66 (highest grade known) sold on 01/04 at HA for $172,500!!!