This is the first 'small' cent, designed by James Longacre in 1856. Called the Flying Eagle, it was very unpopular and was only made for three years. Part of that problem was the fact that the coin was only 88% copper (the rest was nickel) and was only 19mm in diameter. During that first year, 1856, only about 1000 of the coins were struck and today they are very rare and extrememly valuable. But they are still available to collectors if they are willing to pay. As I write this, 1856 Flying Eagle cents are listing on Ebay for $9,999 to $36,750. But coins of that date are not listed in albums, including mine, so I consider my album to be complete despite the fact that it lacks this issue.

The Flying Eagle cent was released into circulation on May 25, 1857, and although more of these coins were made that year than any other coin had ever been made by the mint, they were so unpopular that by November, 1858, the director of the mint notified congress that no more would be made.

This is my best 1857 Flying Eagle cent. It was advertised by the seller as an AU58 but when I had it certified, it was graded AU50 by the experts. This was a bit disappointing but understandable because coins like this are nearly always overgraded these days. It is worth about $215.

This is my other 1857 flying eagle cent, bought some time ago. Unfortunately it looked much better on the web and I decided to add it to my collection but it was not as good as I thought and thus was overpriced and I simply stored it in the D case.

This is my best 1858 coin. It is certified to be graded as AU 58 and is worth about $500. The coin cost me $605 and this may be a bit more than its actual value but there was a better one available recently and I wanted it but did not place the order soon enough and lost it to another buyer. So I decided to grab this coin as soon as I was able to do so. The coin is stored in the red box I have for slabbed coins.

On January 9, 1857, the Fort Tejon earthquake shook the southern end of the San Adreas fault with a magnitude of 7.9. On March 6 the Supreme Court ruled that blacks are not citizens, lending fuel to the fire that became the Civil War 3 years later. That decision was overturned in 1868 with the 14th Amendment. On March 23, the first public elevator was installed in New York City. On July 18th soldiers of the U.S. army left Fort Leavenworth and headed for Utah, which was the beginning of the Utah War between the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the federal government. Although it lasted for more than a year, there never were any battles fought between opposite forces during the war. On September 12, the SS Central America sinks off the coast of North Carolina, killing 425 people. On October 13th the banks in New York closed causing the beginning of the financial panic of 1857, which lasted until December 12.

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state of the union. June 16th: Abraham Lincoln accepts the nomination for a seat in the U.S. senate. July sees the Pike's Peak gold rush in the Rocky Mountains. August 16: Presiden Buchanan inaugurates the transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria. And Fordyce Beals patents the 6-shooter revolver, later produced by Remington as the model 1858.