Flying Eagle Cent

The Flying Eagle Cent marks a major turning point in United States coinage as the first small-format cent, replacing the much larger and heavier copper large cent that had circulated since the 1790s. Its brief production run and historic 'first of type' status make it a highly sought coin for collectors of small cents and 19th-century American coinage generally.

The famous 1856 Flying Eagle Cent, struck in limited numbers primarily as a pattern to gain congressional and public approval for the new smaller cent format, is one of the most celebrated key dates in the entire series and in U.S. coinage overall. The subsequent 1857 and 1858 issues represent the coin's actual circulating mintages and are more available, though still popular as a foundational type coin.

Because the eagle design proved difficult to strike well against the date, the series was short-lived, giving way to the Indian Head Cent in 1859.

By the mid-1850s, the large copper cent had become increasingly impractical and unpopular due to its size, weight, and rising copper costs, prompting Congress to authorize a smaller cent under the Act of February 21, 1857. Chief Engraver James B. Longacre designed the new coin's obverse featuring a flying eagle, adapting elements from a design originally used by Christian Gobrecht on the 1836 Gobrecht Dollar.

A limited number of pattern and presentation pieces dated 1856 were struck before the law's formal passage, intended to demonstrate the new design to lawmakers and select individuals; while technically patterns, these 1856-dated pieces have long been treated by collectors as a genuine, highly desirable part of the regular series. Official circulation strikes began in 1857, with the public eagerly exchanging worn large cents and Spanish colonial small change for the new, more convenient small cents.

Production problems, particularly difficulty getting the eagle design on the obverse to strike up fully against the wreath reverse, led the Mint to replace the design after only a few years, introducing the Indian Head Cent in 1859.

The obverse depicts an eagle in flight facing left, with 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' around the border and the date below the eagle. The reverse shows the denomination 'ONE CENT' within a wreath of agricultural products, a design element that would carry forward into the following Indian Head Cent series.

The coin is smaller and lighter than the earlier large cent, struck in a copper-nickel alloy that gives it a paler, more silvery-tan color compared to the darker, purely copper large cents that preceded it. Because the two sides' high points did not always align well in striking, many Flying Eagle Cents show some weakness of detail, particularly in the eagle's head and tail feathers or the wreath details opposite them, and this striking weakness is a normal characteristic of the type rather than necessarily wear.

The 1856 date is the key rarity of the series and, given its status as a coveted pattern-turned-collectible, is a frequent target for alteration; genuine 1856 examples are typically authenticated by professional grading services due to the significant value difference from the more common 1857 and 1858 dates.

The 1857 and 1858 issues are the two circulating dates of the type and are reasonably obtainable in worn grades for collectors building a type set, with prices rising for sharply struck, high-grade, or fully lustrous examples. The 1856 Flying Eagle Cent, by contrast, is a major American numismatic rarity due to its extremely limited original striking as a pattern piece, and genuine examples command prices that can run into the thousands of dollars or more depending on condition.

Because of the significant value gap between the 1856 and later dates, and a long history of altered dates being passed off as the rare 1856, collectors are strongly advised to seek coins that have been authenticated and graded by a reputable third-party grading service.