The Flying Eagle Cent

The Flying Eagle cent, one of the shortest- running coin designs in all the U.S. coin series, was brought about by inflation and before its demise, may have started coin collecting as we now know it.

An unnamed contemporary "well known correspondent" quoted three-quarters of a century later in the April 1944 issue of The Numismatist said of the then new coin design: "The issue of 1856 Flying Eagle cents virtually started coin collecting in this country.

There were a few great coin collectors before that time, but not many, and then they started."

The Jan. 8, 1857, The Buffalo Commercial Advertiser newspaper handed the design another compliment: "The editor of the Providence, R.I. Journal has been permitted to see one of the new cents just struck off at the Mint. He describes it as a little larger than a dime, and nearly twice as thick. On one side is a flying eagle, with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1856, around the circle: on the other is ONE CENT within a wreath. It is altogether the handsomest coin of so low a denomination that we have ever seen."

The Flying Eagle cent was officially issued as a legal tender coin for only two years, 1857 and 1858. But there is more to the series to collect if patterns are considered. The design for the coin actually began much earlier, in 1836, when Mint Engraver Christian Gobrecht designed the Flying Eagle concept for the reverse of a silver dollar based on sketches by Titian Peale, Thomas Sully and William Kneass.

Gobrecht's persistence
Gobrecht might never have worked at the U.S. Mint if it was not for his persistence. He solicited President James Monroe for a job as Mint Engraver by letter on Dec. 1, 1823. He was not given the courtesy of a reply. Two years letter the Director of the Mint requested the employment of Gobrecht at the Mint. His request was denied. The president reconsidered in early 1826, with an offer made of about $600 a year for the position. Gobrecht, making more money in private work as a bank note plate engraver and medalist, declined this offer.

In 1835 Gobrecht finally joined the Mint at $1,500 per year. The following year his Flying Eagle design was prepared and used to strike the reverse of the Gobrecht silver dollar patterns and coins. Further pattern dollars used the Flying Eagle reverse through 1839.

His Seated Liberty obverse design was adopted for U.S. silver coinage. The Flying Eagle reverse was used on some pattern half dollars dated 1838, but on nothing further until it was used on the obverse of pattern design trial strike large cents of 1854 and 1855. The 1855 strikes are metallurgical trial strikes (used to test new alloys). The 1854 issue is made of bronze; the 1855 issues are made of bronze, copper-nickel, oroide, copper and pure nickel. The reverse of these patterns for both years is the traditional denomination within an enclosed wreath, which was used on large cents of the time.

A smaller cent
As early as 1849, Director of the Mint Robert M. Patterson was advised that studies were being made by the House Ways and Means Committee to reduce the diameter of the cent.

In 1850 the Mint struck reduced diameter cent patterns with a hole in the center made of bullion and copper. The bullion patterns were alloyed of 90 percent copper and silver. More "ring" pattern cents were struck in 1851. None of these used the Flying Eagle design. The design with hole in the center was rejected as being too similar to Chinese cash coins, which had little purchasing power.

The Mint was learning from various sources that the public was not pleased with the 27.5-millimeter, 10.89-gram copper Coronet cents then in circulation.

Some banks and stores refused the large cents unless discounted in relation to silver and gold coins used in transactions. Some merchants offered goods at different prices depending on if large cents or other coins were used in payment.

Cent patterns were made of nickel and copper alloy mixtures in the belief that nickel at about $2 a pound would give the coin an intrinsic value acceptable to the public. Nickel was a popular metal not for this reason, but because Joseph Wharton, a well-connected person with a monopoly on nickel mines in the Western Hemisphere, was encouraging its use in coins to further his own profits.

As further patterns were produced, the Gobrecht Flying Eagle design was resurrected for the first time in about 20 years. This time it was being tried as an obverse subject.

Further problems were faced with large cent mintage when between 1851 and 1853 due to the cost of materials and production, it cost the Mint $1.06 to produce 100 cents.

The Mint Director, a neighbor of Wharton's, successfully tried striking an alloy of 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel for a new reduced diameter cent. A group of 50 half cent trial pieces struck in this alloy were submitted to the Treasury in July 1856.

While the Mint awaited approval of the alloy, Mint Director James Ross Snowden approved a Flying Eagle design for the obverse of the cent based on the Gobrecht design, with a reverse wreath based on that used on the gold $1 and $3 coins as designed by James B. Longacre.

Flying Eagle cent patterns dated 1856 with a diameter of 19mm were struck throughout the remainder of the year, the actual mintage being disputed. Mint records which have survived indicate at least 634 pieces were struck, but George W. Rice, at one time American Numismatic Association secretary, alone owned 756 pieces.

Longacre himself had Proof 1856 half cents in nickel, an 1856 Flying Eagle cent in copper and 10 in copper-nickel in his personal collection which was auctioned Jan. 21, 1870, in Philadelphia.

According to Q. David Bowers in The History of United States Coinage, "Somewhere between 600 and 700 examples, with the frosty surface known today as Uncirculated, were distributed to members of the Senate and House of Representatives; 200 pieces to the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures; four to President Franklin Pierce; a number to various newspaper editors and others of influence; and additional pieces to persons associated with the Treasury Department."

Wesley R. Hauptman referred to the 1856 Flying Eagle cent pattern as "one of the most common of all United States pattern pieces" in the September 1938 issue of The Numismatist.

Three major varieties of the 1856 Flying Eagle cent were struck. The date can vary in thickness, as can the placement of some leaves on the wreath on the reverse. The 1856 cent pattern has never become legal tender. Collectors should be cautioned to watch for altered date 1858 Flying Eagle cents if acquiring this pattern.

Legislation approved
On Feb. 21, 1857, coinage legislation was passed by Congress authorizing production of the small cent. The legislation ended large cent production, with the public being encouraged to redeem all large cents.

To assist in redeeming not only large cents, but all formerly circulating foreign coins which were declared to no longer be legal tender by the legislation, booths were set up in the yard of the Philadelphia Mint open to the public to allow them to exchange the now obsolete coins following the availability of the 1857 Flying Eagle cent on May 25. The new cents were available in bags of 500 pieces.

A booth was set up to redeem cents and another to redeem silver foreign coins. Half cents were also phased out by the same legislation. The 1857 cents have a mintage of more than 17 million pieces. Proofs were struck in addition to business strikes for circulation. Proofs can be distinguished from Uncirculated coins by die file marks under NI in UNITED on the obverse.

A variety exists with the E's open in ONE CENT on the reverse and a faintly visible doubled date variety is known.

Uncirculated and Proof versions of the 1858 Flying Eagle cent were struck with a total mintage of more than 24 million pieces. The best known varieties are those with Large Letters or with Small Letters. The A and M in AMERICA are joined at the base on the Large Letters variety.

Varieties also exist with open E's or closed E's in the reverse legend and an 1858/7 Flying Eagle, Large Letters overdate variety is known with characteristic broken wingtip and a triangular chip in the field under the eagle. A second 1858/7 overdate variety has identified from a different die.

There are several "transitional" varieties with the leaf clusters on the reverse changed due to Longacre's design change experiments directed by Mint Director James R. Snowden. Snowden recommended a design change to an Indian Head obverse design Nov. 4, 1858, to the Secretary of the Treasury after it became apparent the Flying Eagle design had striking problems. Collectors were permitted to purchase these transitional pieces.

The design of the Flying Eagle cent did not permit good metal flow to the recesses of the head and tail of the eagle on the obverse and to some points on the wreath on the reverse.

Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb ordered production of the new Indian Head design to begin Jan. 1, 1859, ending the two-year type coin which is the nation's first small cent.

Ironically, following the two-year period in which foreign coins and large cents could be redeemed at the Mint, a flood of Flying Eagle cents followed as more were in circulation than could be used.