Lot 1021
1856 Flying Eagle Cent. PCGS graded Proof 63 PQ. Popular key date cent. In the mid 1830s, artist Titian Peale, son of artist and museum proprietor Charles Willson Peale, was asked by Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson to create drawings of a "lifelike" flying eagle motif for use on coinage, a departure from the perched and heraldic eagles in use for many years.
Whether Peter, the mint's eagle, was actually the model for Peale and Gobrecht (and later, Longacre) may never be known with certainty, but it may have been this bird. Peale's flying eagle appears on the Gobrecht 1836-39 silver dollars. In a nod to that artist, James Longacre, when he came to design this Flying Eagle for the cent, chose the Peale/Gobrecht/"Peter" eagle to depict on the obverse. This is a lustrous golden purple-brown specimen which has grand overall eye appeal. The razor-sharp strike complements this eye-appeal and, some might say, adds immeasurably to the appearance (PCGS # 2037) .
Estimated Value $15,000 - 16,000.
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| Realized $16,963 |
