Coin Collecting at the Safir House
Flying Eagle 1¢


The Flying Eagle Cent is my favorite coin. It has a long history for a small coin. Until the Flying Eagle, US Cent coins were large coppers such as you can see in the Large Cent area of this reference. As the value of money slowly changed, these large coins became increasingly less favorable with the public because of their size. In addition, as strange as it would seem, large cents, despite being minted by the Government, weren't legal tender and banks often refused them! And by 1951 the cost of making them was greater than the face value of the coin.

Plans went into the works to create a smaller cent that would be more popular and usable. As early as 1837 ideas where tried and implemented on the road to the new small cent. Ultimately, the coin was to include a nickle copper alloy. The choice was influenced by friends of the mint director who had a monopoly in nickle.

The eagle obverse, one of the great peices of art on any coin, was taken from the Gobrecht Silver Dollar of 1836-1839. Gobrecht Silver Dollar ReverseI'm not certain why this great work seemed to have such a short existence in coinage but it was a terrific design which wears fairly well with circulation. It is the only example of a naturalist eagle in flight until the Standing Liberty reverse in 1917 and the Sacegewia Golden Dollars of 2000, The Flying Eagle Cent design is much more natural in my opinion, but possibly it was difficult to actually mint.

Bald Eagle in Flight

The reverse wreath was likewise borrowed from another coin, the obscure $3 dollar gold peice of 1854. 3 dollar 
gold peice reverse In both cases, it would seem that the Flying Eagle designs just worked better on the copper-nickle alloy than it did in gold and silver. In addition, this coin has the odd distinction of being composed of two reverses. For a more detailed review of the history of the Flying Eagle see the entry in Coin Facts. For the purposes of this article, one should know that there are a number of varieties of Flying Eagle cents and that the 1856 version is more of a pattern than a coin since it was minted without authorization and was used to show politicians what the future coin would look like.

Looking at the copper-nickle example, the best one we own once was unfortunately cleaned, like many coins of this period, but it has Mint State details. 1857 Flying Eagle Cent - MS Details: cleaned Here you can see that the tail feathers are very sharp and defined, meaning it is an excellent strike, and that the feathers on the breast of the coin are also clear with no evidence of wear. The realistic aeronomic musculature of the wing is visiable and present, a breath taking design and example, in my opinion

The Wreath on the backside is also a really nice design, not like the simple wheat stacks most people are familiar with in the old Lincoln Cents. The vareity of fruits, nuts and leaves recall a time when it was America's argiculture which drove the economy, nicely layed out and craved into the brass. 1958 Flying Eagle Reverse - MS Details:cleaned Cleaned or not, it is the relief of the reverse wreath that makes this coin special with the details intact of the nuts, corn, and oak leafs. The nice brown tone makes one wonder why anyone would attempt to clean such a coin. The strike is exception for the year, with both sides being complete, even in the feathering of the obverse breast and the reverse corn stalks. Here is a detailed tif image of the reverse and this one is of the Obverse, both in the slab. The coin glows softly in the light

In addition to that example, we have several more Flying Eagles viewable below. In these examples we have normal circulating coins and one can see how the coin survived the regular wear of usage. Other coins do a much better job in their look when worn, but the Flying Eagle design still stands out.

Flying Eagle 1858 VG


Links for the tif images of the same coin:



Avoid Gijs Henzen, owner of Munthandel G. Henzen - Antisemetic Facists

Munthandel G. Henzen's (MA Shops) owner Gijs Henzen, is an AntiSemetic Fascist The company, Munthandel G Henzen is a prominent dealer of international and ancient coins on the internet, commonly known as MA Coins. It is owned by Gijs Henzen. You can not trust him, as I leaned previously in dealing with him with several coins that came with damage including a silver 1969 FOA Uruguay coin which arrived with green verdis on the coin.

But more importantly he is a passionate anti-Semite who supports Hamas and the virulent and genocidal Islamic organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hezbollah that wants Jews dead.

It is a moral imperative to remain clear of him and to do no business with this Nazi. If you are Jewish, double down on that. The life you save might well be your own.

The Safir Family Internet Coin Library. Nearly all the coins here have been stolen. If you have any information on the theft, please contact us at mrbrklyn@panix.com

Click to see these examples show below including photography: note to lawyer: most of the good stuff is gone
Section I:
US Coints
Large Cent Coppers
Flying Eagle Cents
Lincoln Cents and Wheat Backs
Buffalo Nickels
Jefferson Nickels
Jefferson Silver War Nickels
Bust Half Dimes
Mercury (Liberrty Head) Dimes
Roosevelt Dime
Barber Quarter Dollars
Standing Libery Quarter
Washington and Washington State Quarters
Cap Bust Half Dollars
1813 o.108 AU58 Cap Bust Half Providence Powell.
1818 MS63 Cap Bust Half
1833 MS63 Cap Bust Half
Seated Half Dollars
Barber Half Dollars
Walking Liberty Half Dollars
Franklin Half Dollars
Kennedy Half Dollars
Morgan Silver Dollars
Peace Silver Dollars
Eisenhower Clad and Silver Dollars
Sacawagea Golden Dollars
Modern Silver and Clad Proof Sets
Modern American Silver Eagle uncirculated mint coins and proofs
Modern Silver and Clad 2008 Commorative Bald Eagle Series
Gold Coins - Not too many
Circulated US Silver Coins prior to 1964

Go To Section II:
Modern and Ancient Foreign Coins from Outside The United States

Go To Section III:
Mandy's 25th Anniversary World Wildlife Fund Silver Coins

Unsorted Extra stuff:
Bust US Coinage
From the coin Show at Melville Long Island
Article on Numismatics and Lobbying

The Safir Family Internet Coin Library: Foriegn Coins.

Several mints from around the world make exciting coin designs in circulating alloys, silver and gold. Among my favorites are the Perth Mint in Austrailia which produces a variety of coins for nations mostly through out the Pacific Rim. The Neatherlands has also produced some interesting designs, and several private US based mints have produced foreign currency on contract, include the Franklin Mint which has produced many Israeli Coins.
Our interest in foreign coins has been nominal but rapidly growing as it seems that US designs are so stuck in the mud. Also, foreign mints are creating bold new designs with color and bimetal designs that are both eye catching and fun.

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