1858 Cent

HBCC#:

6032

Breen#:

n/a

BD#:

n/a

Judd#:

204

Pollock#:

248

This distinctive Flying Eagle obverse is considered by many to be even more beautiful than the design chosen for cent coinage from 1856 to 1858. Mint Director James Ross Snowden wrote to Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb, stating that several experimental dies had been prepared to improve the cent coinage. It was necessary to lower the relief from the then current Flying Eagle cent, so that the designs would be sharply defined, given the difficulty working with the copper-nickel composition. Effectively, Snowden noted that this alloy is much harder than gold or silver, hence more difficult to strike.

Provenance:

Purchased from Lee F. Hewitt, April 17, 1972.

Obverse:

Eagle flying left, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs above, date below. Often called the "skinny eagle" or "small eagle" motif.

Reverse:

ONE CENT at center of oak wreath, ornamental shield at top of wreath., arrows and olive sprig at bottom of wreath.

Commentary: