page_title: Flying Eagle cent
section_title: Preparation
hierarchical_section_title: Flying Eagle cent / Preparation
caption_attribution_description: English: Unadopted pattern for Flying Eagle cent
context_page_description: 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 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.
context_section_description: In early 1856, Snowden proposed legislation to allow him to issue a smaller cent, but leaving the size and metallic composition up to him and Secretary of the Treasury James Guthrie. Under the plan, the new piece would be legal tender, up to ten cents. It would be issued in exchange for the old Spanish silver still circulating in the United States. In the exchange, the Spanish silver would be given full value (12½ cents per real, or bit) when normally such pieces traded at about a 20% discount due to wear. The loss the government would take on the trade would be paid for by the seignorage on the base-metal pieces. The new cents would also be issued for the old cents, and in exchange for the same value in half cents—that denomination was to be discontinued. The bill was introduced in the Senate on March 25, 1856. The old cent weighed 168 grains (10.9 g); on April 16, the bill was amended to provide for a cent of at least 95% copper weighing at least 96 grains (6.2 g) and passed the Senate in that form.
  While the legislation was being considered, Mint Melter and Refiner James Curtis Booth was conducting experiments on alloys that might be appropriate for the new cent. In July 1856, Snowden wrote to Guthrie, proposing an alloy of 88% copper and 12% nickel as ideal and suggesting amendments to the pending bill that would accomplish this. Booth also wrote to Guthrie to boost the alloy; both men proposed a weight of 72 grains (4.7 g) as convenient as 80 cents would equal a troy pound (373 g), although the avoirdupois pound (454 g) was more commonly used for base metals.
  The Mint's chief engraver, James B. Longacre, was instructed to prepare designs for pattern coins. Initially, Longacre worked with Liberty head designs such as were common at the time, but Snowden asked that a flying eagle design be prepared. This occurred as Booth's experiments continued; the first cent patterns with the flying eagle design were about the size of a quarter. To promote the new alloy, the Mint had 50 half cents struck in it, and had them sent to Washington for Treasury officials to show to officials and congressmen. In early November 1856, Longacre prepared dies in what would prove to be the final design, depicting a flying eagle on the obverse and a wreathed denomination on the reverse, in the size sought by Booth.
  The Mint struck at least several hundred patterns using Longacre's flying eagle design in the proposed composition. In an effort to secure public acceptance of the new pieces, these were distributed to various congressmen and other officials, initially in November 1856. Two hundred were sent to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures, while four were given to President Franklin Pierce. At least 634 specimens were distributed, and possibly several thousand; extra were available on request. This was the origin of the highly collectable 1856 Flying Eagle cent, which is considered by numismatists as part of the Flying Eagle series although it was actually a pattern or transition piece, not an official coin, as congressional approval had not yet been granted. Additional 1856 small cents were later struck by Snowden for illicit sale, and to exchange for pieces the Mint sought for its coin collection.
  In December 1856, Snowden wrote to Missouri Representative John S. Phelps, hoping for progress with the legislation, and stating that he was already "pressed on all hands, and from every quarter, for the new cent—in fact, the public are very anxious for its issue". When the legislation, amended to include the weight and alloy the Mint had decided on, was debated in the House of Representatives on December 24, it was opposed by Tennessee Congressman George Washington Jones over the legal tender provision; Jones felt that under the Constitution's Contract Clause, only gold and silver should be made legal tender. Phelps defended the bill on the ground that Congress had the constitutional power to regulate the value of money, but when the bill was brought back up to be considered on January 14, 1857, the legal tender provision had bee
caption: Early pattern coin for the Flying Eagle cent
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 4S", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.7.1", "Image DateTime": "2013:01:15 19:22:22", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.8.2", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "254", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[38, 5073/100, 0]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[104, 99/2, 0]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "1852", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[20, 55, 1617/50]", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "53063/313", "Image GPSInfo": "644", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "952", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6522", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/20", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:01:15 13:55:32", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:01:15 13:55:32", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2779/643", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4845/1918", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "4501/1725", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "107/25", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 881, 881]", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "35", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}