1858 Proof Cent Pattern - J-207

Coin Details

Auction Record

$4,994 PR40 08-08-2013 Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as Judd-207, this pattern cent features one of the more distinctive experimental designs from 1858: the Small Flying Eagle obverse. Rather than the bold, spread-wing eagle of the regular Flying Eagle cent, this obverse presents a noticeably smaller, more slender eagle in flight. Mint Director James Ross Snowden described it as "a small eagle, volant, presented in a different position from that on the legal cent." UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appears above with the date 1858 below. The reverse carries the agricultural wreath used on regular-issue Flying Eagle cents. Struck in copper with a plain edge, this piece belongs to the Small Flying Eagle subgroup (Obverse 6), which spans Judd-202 through J-207a and J-220. The "skinny eagle" design represented one of several avenues explored as the Mint worked to develop a cent design that would strike up more reliably than the original Flying Eagle, whose high-relief opposing elements caused persistent production difficulties. Though this diminutive eagle design was ultimately rejected, it remains a popular collecting target among pattern enthusiasts for its distinctive and somewhat whimsical appearance.