What is a Proof Flying Eagle Cent?
Many if not most Proof Flying Eagle cents lack the deep mirror finish characteristic of, for example, later Indian cents, and were struck from dies that were incompletely polished. This is particularly true of 1856 Flying Eagle cents, for which even the experts disagree. The situation is not made easier by the prolonged use of certain dies which, apparently, were repolished from time to time. In recent times there has been a growing interest in sorting 1856 Flying Eagle cents by die varieties — mainly based upon guidelines given by Walter Breen in his encyclopedia on Proof coins (published in 1977, reprinted in 1987) and Richard Snow’s Flying Eagle & Indian Cents (1992). Several specialists are currently engaged in research on the same subject. I anticipate that over the next few years a number of refined theories will be published concerning die combinations, die states, and estimated issue times. A question that has already arisen is this: Should an 1856 Flying Eagle cent with an in
