1856 Flying Eagle Proof

The 1856 Flying Eagle cent is one of the most famous coins in American numismatics, though it was never intended for circulation. The Mint produced approximately 2,000 to 3,000 of these coins (the exact figure is debated) as pattern pieces to demonstrate a proposed new cent design to members of Congress. The large copper cent, which had been in production since 1793, was becoming impractical. It was too big, too heavy, and too expensive to produce relative to its one-cent face value. The Mint needed Congressional approval to replace it with a smaller, lighter coin, and the 1856 Flying Eagle was the sales pitch.

James B. Longacre, the Mint's Chief Engraver, designed the coin. The obverse features an eagle in flight, adapted from the eagle that Christian Gobrecht had placed on the reverse of his 1836 silver dollar. The reverse shows a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco encircling ONE CENT. The coin is struck in an alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel, giving it a pale, almost white appearance quite different from the dark brown of the old large cents. At 19 millimeters in diameter and 4.67 grams, it is dramatically smaller than the 28-millimeter, 10.89-gram large cent it was meant to replace.

The 1856 patterns were distributed to Congressmen, government officials, and well-connected collectors. They served their purpose: Congress passed the Coinage Act of February 21, 1857, authorizing the new small cent and discontinuing both the large cent and the half cent. The 1856 Flying Eagle cent, having accomplished its legislative mission, became an instant collector's item. Survivors were never spent. They were kept, traded, and treasured by the small but growing community of American coin collectors.

The question of whether the 1856 is a "pattern" or a "coin" has never been fully resolved. The Mint struck it in quantity, distributed it widely, and the design was adopted for regular production the following year. PCGS and NGC both certify and grade the 1856 Flying Eagle, and the market treats it as a regular-issue coin for collection purposes. Regardless of classification, the 1856 is the coin that ended the large cent era and inaugurated the small cent era. It is also expensive. Even low-grade examples in About Good command four-figure prices, and gem proofs have sold for well into six figures. The coin's historical importance, combined with its limited production and strong collector demand, sustains prices that place it among the most valuable nineteenth-century United States coins by type.