Flying Eagle Cent

The Flying Eagle Cent is an American Kursmünze to a penny that was minted 1856-1858. The James Barton Longacre designed by coin shows a flying bald eagle. She is the first one-cent piece in the reduced size and the only current coin of the United States showing a flying eagle on the front.

1856 were minted around 750 sample copies of influential congressmen and senators. These pieces quickly learned a great popularity and were traded at high prices. Thereupon, 1500 pieces in Proof (English: Polished plate ) nachgeprägt. 1857 and 1858 the coin was produced in large editions for circulation. The production of the coins, however, proved to be problematic. The wreath on the back meant that the border areas were most pronounced too weak on the front. To compensate, the die pressure was increased, but this led to a faster wear of the dies. 1859 Flying Eagle Cent was eventually replaced by the Indian Head Cent.

On the front is the American national bird, a bald eagle, pictured in flight. Above it is the country name "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ". The year of mintage is positioned below. The back shows in two rows the denomination "ONE CENT ", surrounded by a wreath of various crops: inter alia, grain, corn and grape leaves. The coin weighs 4.7 g and has a diameter of 19 mm. It is composed of 88 % copper and 12 % nickel.

Vintages and conditions

The following table contains all embossed vintages and their support. In the third column the requirements of the coins in proof are listed. All coins were minted in Philadelphia.