1856 1C J-184 PR(PCGS#11808)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

4323

Grade

PR63

Price

23,180

Lot Description

<strong>Obv:</strong> The Pointed U obverse of the famous 1856 Flying Eagle cent. <strong>Rev:</strong> The denomination ONE CENT within an oak wreath with a broad ornamental shield at top. Three arrows and an olive branch are tied at the base of the wreath. There is no line under the annulets on the left side of the shield, confirming this die as Rick Snow's Reverse C, used in the author's Die Pair 2. A wonderful pattern cent design, represented here by a handsome Select Proof specimen. Deep olive and vivid pinkish-rose undertones backlight warm tan-gold color. The fields are subtly reflective and support frosty, fully impressed motifs.<p>The <em>uspatterns.com</em> website considers this to be a fantasy piece struck after 1858, since the reverse die does not appear to have been made in 1856. The PCGS Proof-63 specimen offered is not included in the census of seven examples traced by Rick Snow in his 2014 reference <em>The Flying Eagle & Indian Cent Attribution Guide</em>. The updated census provided by <em>uspatterns.com</em> lists 16 distinct examples and includes this piece as #7. These are rarely made available in the market, and one of the most recent examples we sold was the impaired specimen in NGC Proof Details--Altered Color that still realized a strong $8,400 in our June 2024 Auction. Linked by obverse die to the historic and famous 1856 Flying Eagle cent, the superior-quality PCGS Proof-63 specimen offered here is sure to draw strong bids from many quarters.