| Description: |
A splendid example having frosty devices and slightly reflective fields (as is
characteristic of virtually all copper-nickel Proofs seen). The surfaces are about 20%
brilliant fading to tan. Blushes of pink and lilac add to the aesthetic affect. Most
design features are sharp, save for the eagle’s claws.Although the 1856 Flying Eagle
cent is technically a pattern, the design was adopted for circulation in 1857, and over
the decades the 1856 has come to be collected with the regular-issue 1857 and 1858 Flying
Eagle varieties. The popularity of the issue is due largely to its minuscule mintage, an
estimated 2,000 pieces (per the Guide Book), by far the lowest production figure of any
date in the small cent series. The acquisition of an example is a landmark event for any
collector, especially for examples preserved this beautifully.The obverse motif was
adapted from the Flying Eagle featured on Christian Gobrecht’s silver dollars of 1836
through 1839. The reverse wreath is almost identical in style to the gold dollars and
three-dollar pieces of 1854 and later years. Walter Breen in his Encyclopedia recognizes
four distinctly different reverses found on Flying Eagle cents of the year; on
"Reverse D” the upper fork of each ribbon tip is longer and thicker than the lower
fork.In More Adventures with Rare Coins, author Q. David Bowers devoted an entire chapter
to this popular American rarity and its significance to several generations of collectors.
Briefly told, this rare small cent captured the interest of America’s fledgling
collecting community at a very early date, certainly by early 1857 when the regular issue
Flying Eagle cent made its debut in circulation as a replacement for the familiar large
copper cents of 1793-1857. The appearance of the new small cent issue sparked a nationwide
interest in saving old coppers directly from circulation, with many people who had never
felt a spark of numismatic interest suddenly plucking the old coppers from circulation in
an effort to assemble a date set. In fact, within a few years, several numismatic
societies were formed, and numismatic books were published. Those who were already ardent
collectors of U.S. coins took an instant liking to the Flying Eagle cents of 1856, as well
as those of 1857 and 1858, and even the Indian cents of 1859. However, although collectors
of that era knew 1856-dated Flying Eagles cents had been produced, virtually no cents of
that date were to be found in circulation, thus becoming an object of great desire by as
early as 1859, when the marketplace cost of such pieces was $1 each. At 100 times face
value, even the "common man” no doubt looked for 1856-dated small cents in pocket
change. After all, a dollar was a good day’s pay to the general population in that era.
Accordingly, to meet demand, the Mint produced many more 1856-dated Flying Eagle cents,
those pieces currently called restrikes, the end result being that today there are
probably close to 2,000 1856 Flying Eagles in existence, or as Dave Bowers noted "few
enough to make them rare, but enough to make them collectible.” Bowers also noted
"a good case can be made for the 1856 Flying Eagle cent to be the foremost popular
rarity of all 19th-century American coins.” |
