Lot 2456
1857 Flying Eagle Cent. PCGS graded MS-65. Boldly struck and untoned. A very choice coin. Sparkling light golden iridescence permeates this satiny Flying Eagle beauty with a life of its own. Add a sky-scraping level of mint frostiness, bold design, and aesthetic appeal and the totality is very tempting. Pop 202; 2 in 65+, 16 in 66 (PCGS # 2016) .
Note: Mint designer-engraver James Barton Longacre reworked Gobrecht's famous flying eagle of 1836-9 and placed it on the obverse of America's first Small Cents. These were first given the name "white cents" by the public and must have been strikingly brilliant and silvery when new compared to the old red Large Cents then being withdrawn. For the reverse Longacre adapted his first wreath of cereals design first used on Gold Dollars and Three-dollar Gold pieces but differing from the wreath used on half dimes and dimes of the period. Together, these borrowings combine to give us one of our nation's most attractive coin designs. It is unfortunate the Flying Eagle had to be retired so suddenly. Unfortunate, that is, for lovers of artistic coinage; but fortunate for today's avid coin buyers.
Estimated Value $3,200 - 3,400.
The Coltrin Family Collection.
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| Realized $2,645 |
