1857 Flying Eagle Cent | First Regular-Issue Small Cent | Historic U.S. Coin

1857 Flying Eagle Cent | First Regular-Issue Small Cent | Historic U.S. Coin

Each purchase includes the exact 1857 Flying Eagle Cent shown in the photos, housed in a stapled 2×2 coin holder.

Coin details:

1857-dated United States one-cent coin
First year of regular Flying Eagle Cent production
Struck at the Philadelphia Mint with no mintmark
Designed by James B. Longacre
88% copper and 12% nickel
Original weight of approximately 4.67 grams
Approximately 19 millimeters in diameter
Plain edge
Original mintage of 17,450,000
Raw and uncertified
Circulated with heavy wear, dark toning, marks and visible surface roughness
Exact coin pictured is the coin you will receive 

History of the Flying Eagle Cent

The Flying Eagle Cent marked a major change in United States coinage. Rising copper costs made the older large cents expensive and inconvenient to produce, so Congress authorized a smaller copper-nickel cent in 1857. The new coin was less than half the weight of its large-cent predecessor and established the small cent format still used today. 

The obverse features an eagle flying to the left, while the reverse displays the denomination “ONE CENT” inside a decorative wreath. The Flying Eagle design appeared on circulating cents only in 1857 and 1858, making it one of the shortest-lived regular United States coin designs. It was replaced by the Indian Head Cent in 1859. 

More than 17 million examples were struck in 1857 to introduce the new denomination and encourage the public to exchange older large copper cents and foreign coins. The Flying Eagle series was discontinued partly because the opposing eagle and wreath designs were difficult to strike completely. 

This coin was officially issued as United States legal-tender coinage with a denomination of one cent. Its collectible value is based on its age, historic importance, condition and numismatic demand rather than its denomination.

Please review all photos carefully for wear, color and surface characteristics. The coin is raw and has not been authenticated or assigned a numerical grade by a third-party grading service. Any handwritten information on the holder is not a professional certification.

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