Flying Eagle Small Cent

1857 - 1858

Specimens Now Available on eBay

The Flying Eagle penny was the first small cent. Known for its exquisite design, it was the first regular issue US coin made of a nickel alloy. It was often called a white cent, owing to its light color, especially compared to the copper cent it was intended to replace. With this coin everything was new.

It was smaller, and less costly to produce. The older cents were becoming uneconomical for the mint to manufacture due to the rising cost of copper.

Coincidentally the public had grown tired of pockets full of large coins worth only a penny a piece.

Furthermore, a powerful combination of nickel mining lobbyists had gained influence in Congress, persuasively promoting a nickel alloy cent – light, bright, and durable – to replace the older cents. In 1856 the mint produced 1,000 “pattern” pieces of the proposed coin which it distributed for scrutiny to members of Congress. Although the dates of issue for this type are traditionally 1857-1858, enough of the pattern coins got into circulation to create one of the great collectible rarities of US coinage. Collectors learn, early on, about the elusive 1856 piece, often assuming it was a regular issue coin. It was not.

As you will note in the listings below, this is a truly beautiful coin – perhaps the most memorable design of James B. Longacre.