1856 1C Flying Eagle, S-3 PR(PCGS#47058)

August 2021 ANA U.S. Coins Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

4013

Grade

PR15

Price

10,800

Lot Description

Perennially Popular 1856 Flying Eagle Cent Scarce and Historic Snow-3 Die Pairing 1856 Flying Eagle Cent. Snow-3. Repunched 5, High Leaves. Proof-15 (PCGS). CAC. This handsome piece exhibits warm, even golden-olive patina to the reverse, the obverse with a deeper coppery-tan appearance. The surfaces are smooth for the assigned grade, and all major design elements remain boldly outlined and fully appreciable. The production of small-diameter cent patterns began in 1850, and in 1856 the Mint in Philadelphia struck close to 1,000 examples of James B. Longacre's Flying Eagle design type for distribution to important individuals. Specialist Rick Snow (2014) suggests that the Snow-3 variety offered here "makes up most or all of the 634 specimens originally distributed to Congress to help promote passage of the pending coinage bill." Although upward of 500 of those coins have survived (again per Snow), this variety is considerably scarcer than the typically encountered Snow-9 pairing. Although certified as a Proof by PCGS, examples of the 1856 Snow-3 Flying Eagle cent are typically certified as circulation strikes by that service. Admittedly the attribution is difficult to confirm, especially since light surface buildup around the digits in the date has obscured the repunching to the 5. There is no die line from the border to the letter I in UNITED, however, nor is there a center dot on the reverse - both diagnostics of the more common Snow-9 variety, which was struck in Proof format. Inasmuch as Snow-3 examples often display significant wear, as here, we are confident in the attribution. PCGS# 2037. NGC ID: 227A. Click here for certification details from PCGS.