1857 1c Flying Eagle MS

1857 Cent Production: Soon after the Mint Act of February 21, 1857 was enacted, production began on the regular-issue 1857 Flying Eagle cent. By May 25, the offcial release date, the excitement of the populace overwhelmed the U.S. Mint. Two special outdoor booths were set up in the Mint yard to accommodate the massive demand. In addition to the novelty of the new coin, the rush to get the new cent was augmented by the mandate that they be exchanged for the old copper cents and half cents, which were to be slowly removed from circulation. The cents were mostly paid out in bags of 500 pieces.

Up until 1860, certain foreign silver coinage, mostly Spanish coins minted in Mexico, was legal currency in this country. The new Mint Act called for the removal of these coins in exchange for the new cents or federal silver coinage. Most people chose to exchange for silver, even at a discount.

The shape of the lettering on these new dies was slightly altered, most noticeably on the O in OF, which is oval shaped. Some of the undated dies from 1856, which had a somewhat squared O in OF, were dated 1857 and used for this production. This creates two minor types of 1857 Flying Eagle cents: Type of 1856 and Type of 1857. The Type of 1857 is far more common and is usually not considered a variety.

Survivability: This issue was initially heavily saved because of its novelty. One of the effects of the redemption for old coppers is that many people may have obtained large quantities at one time. It was diffcult to spend cents for anything but small purchases, so enterprising individuals would bundle the coins up into 25¢, 50¢, and $1 bags. Lack of wear from personal contact may have contributed to their survivability. Within six years they were withdrawn from circulation, along with all the other hard currency, during the Civil War. After 1863 they came back into circulation and stayed there in quantity until the redemption program of the 1870’s. After 1880, they began to be curiosities in circulation.

The coins remaining today are in either very low grade (below Fine) or Mint State. Problem-free Extremely Fine and About Uncirculated coins are very diffcult to locate.

Collecting Challenges: These coins are available readily enough that collectors should be patient to find attractive examples with good strikes and few problems. The Type of 1856 design is of fairly minor importance and was not well known until the 1980’s. As such it is not included in any of the popular albums made for circulated coins, or in Whitman’s Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). Even so, some specialists desire to acquire an example.

Collecting Circulated Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for circulated coins is EF-40. Examples in Good to Fine are very plentiful. The higher-grade examples are fairly expensive, but the price is based on demand for a popular coin, so they tend to be easily resold at a price close to retail. On the other hand, low-grade examples are plentiful enough that their resale value is much lower than their retail price.

Collecting Mint State Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for Mint State coins is MS-64. Examples in this grade are very popular and in high demand. They are also widely available, so it is important to search out quality pieces. Because of price resistance, examples in MS-63 and lower are in demand if they are attractive. MS-64 examples offer the best value for the money spent. Prices for MS-65 are much higher than for MS-64 because of the demand for “gem” sets against a small supply of available pieces. Beware of lower-quality MS-65 coins that may in fact be no better than the nicer MS-64 examples available. A patient collector will be rewarded with a beautiful example of this popular design.

Collecting Proof Issues: Proof examples are very well struck and have very deep mirror fields. These are some of the most beautiful Flying Eagle cents made. All Proof 1857 cents come from the Type of 1857 dies. A few prooflike examples of the Type of 1856 design are known, and can be confused as Proofs. Some have even been mistakenly certified as Proofs.

The Proofs are much rarer than the published mintage suggests. The Red Book lists an estimated mintage of 485 pieces; however, nowhere near those numbers are known today. Perhaps no more than 50 were struck. Unimpaired specimens in PF-63 or higher are easily five-figure coins. Needless to say, this is one of the toughest dates in the series.

This is one of the more popular dates with variety collectors. Two design types, Type of 1856 and Type of 1857, are available to collectors should they desire to acquire them.

The top varieties for this date are the multi-denominational clashed dies: Snow-7, Snow-8, and Snow-9. These have imprints on the die, called clash marks, which are caused not by the opposing die, but by a totally different denomination! Snow-7 has obverse clash marks from the obverse of a $20 gold piece! Snow-8 shows reverse clash marks from the reverse of a Liberty Seated quarter dollar. Snow-9 shows clash marks from the obverse of a Liberty Seated half dollar. These three varieties are widely collected as a set.

There are no fewer than 11 known doubled dies, some of which, like the Snow-3, Snow-4, and Snow-15, are quite dramatic. There are a few repunched dates known as well, including one on the Type of 1856 design. One interesting variety, S-16, shows the base of all four digits punched into the eagle’s neck feathers, twice!

These three varieties, clashed dies from denominations totally unrelated to the cent, are some of the most interesting among all United States coinage! In general, clashed dies are not rare, nor are they very interesting or collectable to most collectors. However, these clash marks are produced from dies other than the Flying Eagle cent and as such have great appeal with collectors.

Clashed dies are produced when dies impact each other. A reversed impression of each die is left on the opposing die. All coins later struck from these dies will show the marks as a slightly raised shelf. This may happen during the setup of the dies in the press. If the dies are initially set too close, the dies will clash during the startup of the press. This is commonly seen in the Indian Head Cent series. On the obverse the clashes are usually in the form of a jagged gear-shaped shelf by the forehead of Lady Liberty. This is from the impression of the inside of the wreath from the reverse die. The reverse will likewise show the clash impression from the forehead and nose inside the wreath, by the O in ONE. Collectors take these typical clash marks as normal artifacts of coin production and place little added interest in them. The clash marks described here, however, are much different.

The study of these coins has been ongoing by many specialists since they were first identified. In 1977 an 1857 quarter dollar with strange clash marks on its reverse was sent to Tom DeLorey, editor of Coin World’s Collector’s Clearinghouse, for identification by Jesse Perrotta. The coin was correctly identified as having clash marks from the reverse die of a Flying Eagle cent. At the same time, purely by chance, Bill Fivaz sent DeLorey another 1857 clashed die coin. This time it was a Flying Eagle cent with a clash on its obverse from a half dollar (Snow-9). DeLorey’s findings were subsequently published in Coin World under the title “Was Mischief Afoot in 1857 Die Clashes?” The strange clash marks were ascribed to the possibility that someone at the Mint was making mismatched coins with various denominations. Today we call these types of coins mules. They have been surreptitiously produced in the past, most recently in 2000 with the Sacagawea dollar / Washington quarter coins.

Nearly a decade later, Bill Fivaz, who owned a clashed quarter and the Snow-9 half dollar clash, was told of a Flying Eagle cent with clash marks on its reverse from the reverse of a half dollar! After buying that coin and studying it, he discovered that it was not clashed with a half dollar, but with a quarter! It was the missing link to the quarter clashed with the cent in his collection. Today this variety is classified as Snow-8.

The last one of the known 1857 clashed dies to be discovered was the Snow-7 $20 clashed obverse. Bill Fivaz also brought this one to light, but he did not claim to be the discoverer. David McCann later was identified as the initial finder.

One theory, of a surreptitious “Midnight Minter,” has undergone some rethinking as these coins and their manufacture have been studied further. An alternate theory has emerged, due mainly to research by Chris Pilliod, whose article “What Error Coins Can Teach Us About Die Settings” appeared in the April 1996 issue of The Numismatist. This article used striking errors to determine if a given die was used in the upper position in the coining press (called a hammer die) or if it was in the bottom position (called an anvil die). Pilliod showed that the Flying Eagle series had its die setting opposite from the 1857 quarter dollar, half dollar, and double eagle dies.

The significance of this is apparent when it is noticed that the various clashed die varieties show combinations that are predicted by Pilliod’s research. All show either obverse/obverse or reverse/reverse combinations. Also consistent with this is the observation that the designs are aligned right side up, rather than rotated 180 degrees as is seen on normal clashed dies. In light of Pilliod’s study and the fact that no actual coins exist from these die combinations, Q. David Bowers concluded in his Buyer’s and Enthusiast’s Guide to Flying Eagle and Indian Cents that these clashed dies were not the product of surreptitious behavior at the Mint at all. It was suggested that these were caused by accident during the changing of the dies during normal coinage production. In the course of changing the dies from one denomination to another, the collar would have to be removed as well as the two dies. This would allow the press to actually cycle with two denomination dies. It may have been a common practice to cycle the press once to seat the dies in the press.

The following is the probable scenario of their production, by Bowers.

Other multi-denominational clashed dies have been found—an 1864 two-cent piece with a reverse clash from the obverse of an Indian Head cent; an 1868 three-cent piece with obverse clash marks from the reverse of an Indian Head cent; and an 1870 Shield nickel with its obverse clashed with the obverse of an Indian Head cent—so this type of variety is not specific to 1857.