Flying Eagle cent
| United States | |
| Value | 1 cent (.01 U.S. dollars) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 4.67 g |
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition |
|
| Years of minting | 1856–1858 |
| Mint marks | None. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint without mint mark. |
| Obverse | |
|
|
|
| Design | Eagle in flight |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
| Design date | 1856 |
| Reverse | |
|
|
|
| Design | Denomination enclosed by wreath |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
| Design date | 1856 |
The Flying Eagle cent is a one-cent piece struck by the Mint of the United States as a pattern coin in 1856, and for circulation in 1857 and 1858. The coin was designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre, with the eagle in flight based on the work of Longacre's predecessor, Christian Gobrecht.
By the early 1850s, the large cent (about the size of a half dollar) being issued by the Mint was becoming both unpopular in commerce and expensive to coin. After experimenting with various sizes and compositions, the Mint decided on an alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel for a new, smaller cent. After the Mint produced patterns with an 1856 date and gave them to legislators and officials, Congress formally authorized the new piece in February 1857.
The new cent was issued in exchange for the worn Spanish colonial silver coin that had circulated in the U.S. until then, as well as for its larger predecessor. So many cents were issued that they choked commercial channels, especially as they were not legal tender and no one had to take them. The eagle design did not strike well, and was replaced in 1859 by Longacre's Indian Head cent.
The cent was the first official United States coin to be struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1793. These pieces, today known as large cents, were made of pure copper and were about the size of a half dollar. They were struck every year, except 1815 due to a shortage of metal, but were slow to become established in commerce. Worn Spanish colonial silver pieces were then commonly used as money throughout the United States.
The Mint then struck silver or gold in response to deposits by those holding bullion, and made little profit from those transactions. By the 1840s, profits, or seignorage, from monetizing copper into cents helped fund the Mint. In 1849, copper prices rose sharply, causing the Department of the Treasury to investigate possible alternatives to the large one-cent pieces. The cent was unpopular in trade; as it was not a legal tender, nobody had to take it, and banks and merchants often refused it. The cent was disliked for its large size as well. In 1837, the eccentric New York chemist Lewis Feuchtwanger had experimented with a smaller cent size in making model coins as part of a plan to sell his alloy (similar to base-metal German silver) to the government for use in coinage. His pieces circulated as hard times tokens in the recession years of the late 1830s and early 1840s.
...
Wikipedia