Flying Eagle Cent Values & Mintages

Grading tips

Look at the eagle's breast and the tips of the wing feathers. The hard alloy often produced weak strikes, so a sharp coin is worth a premium.

The law that created the small cent

The Act of February 21, 1857 did two things at once. It replaced the large copper cent with a small copper-nickel coin and it ended the legal tender status of Spanish and Mexican silver coins that still circulated widely. The Treasury wanted those old silver pieces out of commerce, so the Mint offered to exchange them, along with large cents, for the new Flying Eagle cents.

When the exchange opened at the Philadelphia Mint in May 1857, crowds lined up to trade old coins for the shiny new ones. Mint Director James Ross Snowden oversaw the switch. Within a few years the large cent and the foreign silver had largely disappeared from circulation.

Where the design came from

Chief Engraver James B. Longacre did not create the flying eagle from scratch. He adapted it from the eagle Christian Gobrecht had designed for the silver dollars of 1836 to 1839. The reverse wreath of corn, wheat, cotton and tobacco, sometimes called the agricultural wreath, was Longacre's own and he used a similar wreath on other coins of the period.

The 1856 pieces were made to show members of Congress and officials what the new cent would look like. The Mint later struck more of them for collectors, which is why far more survive than the original small batch needed for the demonstration.

Varieties of 1857 and 1858

The 1858 cent comes with Large Letters and Small Letters on the obverse. On Large Letters coins the A and M in AMERICA touch, while on Small Letters coins they are separated. The 1858/7 overdate is a scarce variety found among Large Letters cents. Some 1857 cents show clash marks from dies of other denominations, left when a cent die was clashed with a die for a larger coin. These are collected as curiosities.

Collecting Flying Eagle cents

A complete date set needs only the 1857, the 1858 Large Letters and the 1858 Small Letters, plus the 1856 for those who can afford it. Many collectors add the 1858/7 and a clashed 1857 to round out the set. For a type coin, a well-struck 1857 or 1858 is easy to find in circulated grades.

The 1856 is the most counterfeited coin in the series. A common trick is altering the last digit of an 1858 to a 6. Buy any 1856 certified and compare it with authenticated images before paying a premium.

Why the design was replaced in 1859

Besides the hard alloy, the layout itself caused trouble. The eagle's head and wings sat directly opposite the thick wreath on the reverse, so the metal could not flow fully into both sides in one strike. Many Flying Eagle cents show weak feathers and a soft wreath as a result. In 1859 Longacre replaced the design with the Indian Head cent, keeping the same copper-nickel alloy until the switch to bronze in 1864.

Frequently asked questions