1858 1c Flying Eagle, Small Letters MS

1858, Small Letters, Cent Production: The Small Letters design was an attempt to lower the relief of the Flying Eagle design. It is believed that Assistant Engraver Anthony C. Paquet supplied the letter punches for this variety. The obvious difference is the smaller letters, which are similar to a font used on some medals ascribed to Paquet’s hand. Whitman’s Red Book Large Letters describes the difference as having the AM in AMERICA separated, which is a very easy way to describe the differences. The eagle was also modified slightly, although most collectors key in on the lettering style. As this was also the last year of the Flying Eagle motif, the Small Letters can be considered a one-year design change.Small Letters

There is no record as to when the letter style was changed, but it was used extensively on pattern issues of this year, so perhaps it was initially a pattern design made early in the year that was found acceptable to be put into regular production the same year. If so, the Small Letters dies may have been used side by side with any Large Letters dies made at the beginning of the year.

It is interesting to note that the Mint increased the die spacing to maximize the longer die life promised by the shallower design. As a result, many more Small Letters coins are found weakly struck. It is not unusual to find these coins with an anomaly called strike doubling, which is caused by a shifting of the dies at the time the coins are struck. The result is a slight doubling around some of the design elements, including the date and letters. Many collectors confuse this doubling with the highly prized doubled dies. In the Flying Eagle series, true doubled dies will be seen only in the eagle and letters, not the date, which is added to the die in a separate process. A Flying Eagle cent with doubling on the letters and date is most likely a strike-doubled coin, and not worth an added premium.

Survivability: There is no information regarding the release of these coins. It is believed that they were first issued side by side with the Large Letters cents until those dies were used up. Today, we find no overwhelming scarcity of the Small Letters design over the Large Letters design. As such, the estimated mintage for both the Small Letters and Large Letters designs is given as half the total mintage.

As with all the copper-nickel cents, these were popular and circulated widely. By 1860, their presence in circulation was overwhelming. It was not uncommon to bundle the cents in 25- and 50-coin bags. During the coinage crisis of the Civil War, these coins were totally removed from circulation. In 1863, they quickly returned to circulation where they stayed until the redemption period of the 1870’s. Most of the issue was melted at this time. The coins that survived are either median Mint State grades that never returned to circulation after the war or very well-worn coins that stayed in circulation until the 1880’s.

Collecting Challenges: These are widely available in low grades and in moderate Mint State grades (such as MS-63). It is diffcult to find fully struck examples, but it is better to be patient and wait for the right coin to present itself than to quickly fill a hole in your album with a weakly struck example.

There were two reverse styles used this year: High Leaves and Low Leaves (see also 1858, Large Letters). Both are found paired with the Small Letters obverse, with the High Leaves reverse a bit harder to find. If collectors start adding all four die combinations (including the two Large Letters combinations) to their sets, the added demand should push the value of all 1858 Flying Eagles slightly higher.

Collecting Circulated Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for circulated coins is EF-40. As low-grade examples are quite plentiful, it would be advisable to purchase higher-grade examples with original uncleaned surfaces. Selecting a well-struck example is also desirable for an attractive collection. The overwhelming demand for this issue is in the About Uncirculated grade, and as such, their prices have advance steadily over the years.

Collecting Mint State Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for Mint State coins is MS-64. This is the toughest Flying Eagle cent (of the regular issues) to locate in top condition. The prices in Mint State are not much higher than those of the 1858 Large Letters or even the 1857. Some prooflike pieces exist, which are quite attractive and command an added premium.

Collecting Proof Issues: Proof Flying Eagle cents are some of the most attractive coins in numismatics! They all are rare, so when examples become available, they are very expensive or sell very quickly. Most if not all of the Proof issues were struck to be included in a 12-piece pattern set the Mint sold to collectors between 1858 and 1860 (see below).

There are prooflike Mint State examples that may be confused for actual Proof coins. True Proofs should have deeply mirrored fields and superb strikes. The 1858 Small Letters Proof is found with both the High Leaves (rare) and Low Leaves reverse. Few collectors attempt to acquire both types, mainly due to the cost.

A few scarce repunched dates are known for this year. Only one obverse doubled die is known. All other reported obverse doubled dies have proven to be strike-doubled coins, which garner no additional premium. Some of the Low Leaves dies show reworking on the denomination—these are doubled dies, but are really too minor to attract much attention.

The Mint was busy this year trying to increase the die life and striking quality of the cents. In addition to the Small Letters obverse, which was put into production, two other obverse designs were tested: a Small Eagle and an Indian Head design. These were struck together with four reverse wreaths, including the regular wreath then in production, the Plain Oak Wreath, the Oak Wreath With an Ornamented Shield, and the Laurel Wreath.

The Mint produced 12-piece sets of all these die combinations (11 pieces with the regular-issue Small Letters Flying Eagle cent). This became a staple of the Mint’s sales (along with the 1856 Flying Eagle cent) and about 150 to 200 sets were produced and sold over the next few years. Some combinations, such as the 1858 Indian Head / Laurel Wreath die combination, were struck in larger quantities to satisfy demand. Today, many advanced collectors are interested in assembling this set. Some examples of these pattern coins are found in circulated grades.