larne737

Just Bob, I never saw the two "G" but you are right on, thanks. The great-great grandfather we are confident the coin came from, was Augustus I. Guth. He very well could have been called Gus Guth. I flatten the paper the best I could but the smaller image could be anything. He had a men's hat store in Philadelphia.

Kirt, what is the TPG? this level of coin collecting is new to me.

I have been searching the internet and can find nothing on a coin that small. I sent an email to the mint to see if they any history of making one for the war effort since this coin probably came from my great-great grandfather in Philadelphia. I might sent it in for grading anyway with my other coins. It probably was made from three flying eagle coins.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I weighed it and it was about .008 of an oz. lighter. It would not twist apart but I was able to very carefully pry it apart. The outside diameter of the coin was the standard 19mm, it has a well machine cavity 13.5mm in diameter and 2.5mm deep total between both halves, a little less than two dime's thickness. The obverse side is the female 2mm thick and it has a 1.25mm cavity in its half. The reverse side had a inset male shoulder with a total height of 2mm with the coin's outer diameter lip 1.25mm thick, its cavity was 13.5mm wide and 1.25mm deep. It has a small folded old paper inside. The coin was a family heirloom I inherited, probable came from great-great grandfather who was a high-end male hat merchant in Philadelphia who collected coins and signatures. The machining is very precise, even, clean and professional. The coin has been in my immediate family for at least 71 years and no one in the family was a machinist. What was interesting, the coin was in an old slide type holder that had be stapled shut but pried open and showed evidence of being looked at many times but the damage to the holder. None of the other coins showed that same intrusion, so the coin must had raised a lot of questions. After finding the cavity last night I might have vague recollections of knowing that as a child. Regarding what it might be is still the question. It is to hard and small to get apart to be for medicine or a magician trick, any message would have to be very small.

Thanks Just Bob, Sorry for the quality and color it the best this amateur can do. The third photo is self explanatory the 1857 Flying Eagle is in the middle to compare to the stack of 2 and 1 Lincoln pennies. The only things I can figure is it's a mint error with 3 blanks or has a secret spy compartment but the evenness of the edges are perfect aligned but the layers don't want to separate.

I have a 1857 Flying Eagle cent that seems to be thicker than normal but I don't have any to compare it to. The diameter is 19mm which is normal, but the thickness is 3mm which is thicker than a silver dollar, it seem completely out of portion. It also appears to have three layers and the reverse side seem not to be aligned with the obverse but 30 degrees off. Is this normal, a mint error or a fake?

I have a 1857 Flying Eagle one cent that appears made up of three layers, its 19mm diameter is standard but it is 3 mm thick which is thicker than a silver dollar and seem out of portion compared to other coins. I don't have another flying eagle to compare this to and have not been able to find any thickness dimensions online. It this normal for a Flying Eagle Cent? I am preparing to submit a number of coins for grading and was wondering if this is worth the expense. I'm new at this as you probably can tell.