The March 2010 Baltimore Auction

Pre-Bidding Ends: 3/4/2010 3:00:00 PM PST
Live Floor and Internet Bidding Begins: 3/4/2010 3:00:00 PM PST

Lot #175. 1858 Flying Eagle Cent. Small Letters. Snow-PR4. Proof-63 (PCGS). CAC.

Description: An unmistakable proof striking of the final-year Flying Eagle Cent, this Small Letters specimen is fully impressed with shimmering reflectivity in the fields. A loupe also reveals random die striations (as produced) oriented in various directions in the fields that further attest to the care with which this piece was produced. With no outwardly distracting hairlines, contact marks or other blemishes, both sides have much stronger eye appeal than one might expect to see at the lower reaches of Choice quality. Pretty color, as well, with subtle pink and lilac highlights to a base of light-tan tinting.
    The proof variant of the 1858 Small Letters Flying Eagle Cent is certainly a rare coin. While it is not as rare as the 1857 or 1858 Large Letters, examples are much more elusive in all grades than those of the first-year 1856. Flying Eagle and Indian Cent expert Rick Snow (2001) accounts for just 120 specimens having been struck from four different die marriages.

PCGS# 2043

PCGS Population: only 6; 38 finer through Proof-65.


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