Flying Eagle Cent 2 2

[Chris Mikesh]

Hi All,

My Grandson (11 years old) found a Flying Eagle 1857 in my Dad's thousands of coins (I'm jealous. He thought it was Canadian, LOL!).  I have other Flying Eagles - and comparing them, this coin looks like it was (perhaps) weakly struck or struck unevenly.  I'm noticing that the top half (United States of...) is very shallow as opposed to the 'date' half.  Yet the rim is even all around.  The reverse appears to be 'normal' and evenly worn.

Entertaining opinions and comments.

God Bless,

Chris

[Woods020]

Hi Chris. It’s kind of hard to say for sure. It could have been that way from a weak strike, grease, etc. from the beginning. It could have also worn disproportionately in that area despite the rim being consistent. It’s seen quite a bit of circulation. Essentially it will be difficult to say for sure what the culprit is. 

[tj96]

I agree with Woods.  Still not a bad flying eagle. I've seen worse.

[James Zyskowski]

The flyin’ eagle is cool. The real find is the time you spent with your grandson and “Young Numismatist”. 
Awesome!  Today my grandson (8) was going through our Roosie dime album and his young eyes caught where I’d put a D MM in a P MM slot. 
Thanks for your helping advancing the hobby and sponsor of your own YN 👍🏼

[RWB]

Thousands of 1857 and '58 FE cents were saved after the Civil War when rumors circulated that they contained a tiny proportion of gold. Was not true, but it saved some coins from being  redeemed and melted by the Philadelphia Mint.

[Chris Mikesh]

Hi all,

Thank you for the replies.  I agree with all of you...Who knows?  I'd heard the rumor of Gold in the FEs.  Everyone wants gold - don't we?  LOL!  But I'm glad a few remain for history.  So this is #6 in my FE collection, and we have about 50 pounds of coins to go (my Dad's and his Dad's pocket change).  Getting closer to the bottom reveals some Barbers, and Liberty coins - not to mention Indian Heads, Buffalos, 2 Morgans so far (Don't get excited - poor condition) a 1921(P) Peace in ok shape, and a Gold $5 Half Eagle - which I immediately confiscated.  My G-Son thought it was another weird Sacagawea.  When I showed him in the red book, you'd think he struck gold on Oak Island!  (I've got to write a book on this adventure.)  I'll save it for his education.

If there are any other thoughts on the FE - jump in.  I'd love to hear from you. Thank you again.

God Bless,

Chris

[RWB]

Your description is consistent with a cousin's father's culling from circulation -- although he was a postal counter clerk in NYC in the 1930s and mostly pulled Indians and anything earlier, including a couple of quarter eagles and some commemorative halves..

[Woods020]

On 1/22/2022 at 3:52 PM, Chris Mikesh said:

Hi all,

Thank you for the replies.  I agree with all of you...Who knows?  I'd heard the rumor of Gold in the FEs.  Everyone wants gold - don't we?  LOL!  But I'm glad a few remain for history.  So this is #6 in my FE collection, and we have about 50 pounds of coins to go (my Dad's and his Dad's pocket change).  Getting closer to the bottom reveals some Barbers, and Liberty coins - not to mention Indian Heads, Buffalos, 2 Morgans so far (Don't get excited - poor condition) a 1921(P) Peace in ok shape, and a Gold $5 Half Eagle - which I immediately confiscated.  My G-Son thought it was another weird Sacagawea.  When I showed him in the red book, you'd think he struck gold on Oak Island!  (I've got to write a book on this adventure.)  I'll save it for his education.

If there are any other thoughts on the FE - jump in.  I'd love to hear from you. Thank you again.

God Bless,

Chris

You should post pictures of some of the finds. The 21 peace dollar is a nice find and can be worth a decent amount depending on condition. Some of the Barber/seated stuff might be interesting. 

[Chris Mikesh]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:29 PM, Woods020 said:

You should post pictures of some of the finds. The 21 peace dollar is a nice find and can be worth a decent amount depending on condition. Some of the Barber/seated stuff might be interesting. 

Yes, the 1921 is a high relief.  It's really cool to compare a 1926 to the 21 side by side.  Big difference between the High and Low relief version.  The 1921 is about a VG or a little better.  I'll post pictures on another post, (it's a little off topic here). All the Barbers and Libertys are really flat so far.  But there are a few nuggets like the Half Eagle.  

I'll try to post some next week depending on workload.  

GB,

Chris

[Just Bob]

I think I remembered reading something about a weakly struck variety for that year, so I got out my Snow book and laid it on the couch, to look at when we got back from going to a friend's house to eat. When I got home, I discovered that my wife's new rescue dog had eaten the cover and shredded many of the pages. I tried to find the 1857 pages and piece them together, but no luck. 

[Mohawk]

On 1/22/2022 at 10:47 PM, Just Bob said:

I think I remembered reading something about a weakly struck variety for that year, so I got out my Snow book and laid it on the couch, to look at when we got back from going to a friend's house to eat. When I got home, I discovered that my wife's new rescue dog had eaten the cover and shredded many of the pages. I tried to find the 1857 pages and piece them together, but no luck. 

This is the advantage of a Box Turtle and a Plakat Betta as pets.....neither Lenny nor Hisako has ever destroyed a book of mine .  Though, if Lenny (the turtle) was out of his terrarium and in a p*ssy enough mood and could access my research library.......who knows?  He has surprising destructive powers for a small animal.  And if Hisako was more than a couple inches long and had the ability to be independent of his aquarium, he'd probably destroy our whole apartment!! That fish has a very bad attitude.  Our little house would probably look like the aftermath of the East German Uprising of 1953 if Hisako could make it so.  He'd actually be kind of scary if he wasn't completely tiny.

But seriously, Bob, sorry about your book.  And very cool on your wife to rescue an animal.  I have nothing but respect for that.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Mohawk

[Chris Mikesh]

I'll have to get the book.  (Not the turtle or dog)  LOL!

 

Chris