Flying Eagle cent

The Flying Eagle cent is a United States coin that was minted from 1856 to 1858. The coin was designed by James B. Longacre. The Flying Eagle was the first small-sized cent coin minted in the US, replacing the earlier large cent. The obverse of the coin depicts an eagle in flight, a unique subject for the obverse of American coins. The reverse of the coin has the words ONE CENT surrounded by a wreath, similar to the reverse on the later Indian Head cent and Wheat cent minted until 1958. The United States Mint in Philadelphia struck about 700 Flying Eagle cents in 1856 as pattern pieces, a way to show influential congressmen and senators what these coins would look like. The coins became popular and were soon selling for $2.00 in auctions. The Mint began restriking them in 1858 and selling them to the public. Probably another 1,500 pieces were struck in Proof format and sold to new collectors. Auction prices dropped to 25¢. Today they sell for $6,000 or more.

In 1858, there was a "large letter" and "small letter" variety produced. An easy way to tell the difference between large-letter and small-letter varieties is to look at the word 'America'. In the large letter variety, the letters A and M are joined, whereas in the small letter they are not. The small letter variety is a low relief design. The eagle is shallower in the die and the letters are smaller than those used in 1857 and on the 1858 large letter variety.

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