1856 Flying Eagle Cent

1856 Flying Eagle Cent (image 1/2)
1856 Flying Eagle Cent (image 2/2)
Pricing & History
1856 Flying Eagle Cent. NGC graded Proof 64. Lovely toning on both sides. Popular key date. Approximately 2,000 coins struck. Pop 119; 30 finer. Sparkling golden brown iridescence permeates this satiny beauty of this key date Flying Eagle cent with a life of its own. Add a sky-scraping level of mint originality, plus some absolutely gorgeous rose and pale blue iridescence on the eagle, and the appeal is very tempting. If you were expecting the design left by the dies to be deficient in robustness on this 1856 Proof (and it sometimes is, but on lesser coins), take heart, since this is an exceptional specimen, a mighty bold impression on Peter the flying eagle, and not the usual run-of-the-mill strike. It is, indeed, heart-stopping. Peter would fluff out his feathers with justifiable pride. Okay, hopefully we`ve whet your appetite to learn further after that last remark. This is the story of `Peter,` drawn from an article in the American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 27, 1893, p. 85: `On the dollars of 1836, 1838 and 1839, and the nickel cent coins in 1856 is the portrait of an American eagle which was for many years a familiar sight in the streets of Philadelphia. `Peter,` one of the finest eagles ever captured alive, was the pet of the Philadelphia Mint, and was generally known as the `Mint bird.` Not only did he have free access read more
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