1858 Flying Eagle Cent (Small Letters) Spiked Head

Description

A die crack extending from the eagle's beak to the rim creates the characteristic spiked head effect on this 1858 Flying Eagle Cent of the Small Letters variety. On Flying Eagle cents, the spiked head designation refers to die cracks emanating from the eagle design element rather than from a human portrait, as the obverse features James B. Longacre's flying eagle rather than a bust. The raised spike of metal produced by the die crack projects outward from the beak area to the rim, creating a visually striking anomaly on the coin's obverse. The Small Letters designation identifies the specific reverse letter style, distinguishing this from the Large Letters variety also produced in 1858. Flying Eagle cents were struck at the Philadelphia Mint for only three years of regular production (1856-1858), making die varieties from this brief series particularly appealing to collectors. The 1858 represents the final year of the type, and the small cent format — replacing the large copper cents that had been produced since 1793 — was still relatively new, with the design giving way to Longacre's Indian Head cent beginning in 1859.