THIS is what a REAL 1856 Flying Eagle proof cent looks like

Of all the coins I collect, perhaps none is as misunderstood as the 1856 Flying Eagle cent. Minted without congressional approval, some 500 or so of these were made as proof of concept pieces and given out to congress. They had their desired effect, and the era of the small cent was ushered in. As far as we can tell, there are only three die pairings actually struck in 1856, the S-1, the S-3, and the S-5. The rest were most likely made at later dates, mainly to appease the collector base at the time.

The S-1 is the rarest with only about a dozen known in copper-nickel, and a couple of copper examples. It combines the obverse of the S-3 with a blundered reverse where the words ONE CENT are visibly tilted downward to the right. You could make the argument that they were struck as MS, as at least some of them seem to indicate. For a long time it was accepted that there were only 10 of these, but in the past few years I managed to cherry pick one in a regular proof holder and I witnessed another more recently cherry picked in an AU holder.

Of the three “original” 1856 made die pairings, the S-3 is the most plentiful, with many hundreds made and still extant today. These are not to be confused with the far more common S-9 variety which was struck loosely in proof format to satisfy collector demand. These were for the most part struck as a simulated production run and for the most part it shows. I say for the most part because for some reason, a few appear to be made as proofs. These are far less common in the marketplace, but can still be cherry-picked.

The S-5 is interesting. These were unknown until the 1990’s, when a hoard of maybe 15 coins was discovered. Per Rick Snow:
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This is an unusual die pair that was only first de-
scribed in 1992 in the first edition of Flying Eagle and
Indian Cents. The majority of examples seem to have
come out on the market throughout the 1990’s with no
proven pedigree to any earlier collections. The overall
quality of specimens seen are of an unusually high state
of preservation. This leads me to think that the entire
striking from this die pair traces its source to a hoard of
up to 15 pieces that was kept intact since their striking.
No one has yet claimed any first-hand knowledge of this
hoard, so at this point, this is only a theory as to their
source.
Originally, these were listed as being struck after
the initial striking period. This has proven to be wrong.
It is now believed that coins from this die pair are some
of the first examples of the 1856 Flying Eagle struck.
The revision comes from the discovery that the S2 die
pair has a later state obverse die than is used here. This
reverse die (Rev. D) is thought to be one of the two
original reverse dies listed as being made in 1856.

And furthermore:

There had been some confusion early on regarding
the format of these pieces. These were first identified as
proofs in their initial listing in this author’s 1992 book.
No examples have yet come to light that might change
that attribution. The first examples that came on the
market in the early 1990’s got the MS designation by
PCGS, but later they would only give them PR grades.
Those seen have mostly been exceptionally attractive
and well struck. There should be no question that these
are proofs. However, the die striations present on all
examples of this die pair may have caused the graders to
think that these deserve a MS designation. Die striations
are seen on many proof patterns during this period, usu-
ally when the dies are in their earliest die state.
The dies are noticeably striated in two directions on
the obverse and in one direction on the reverse. These
have a mirrored surface, but as the coin is rotated, the
die striations in one direction become visible and then
disappear as another set of die striations appears.
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So it would seem that if you want a true proof 1856 cent, the only real choice is to go with an S-5. These coins have an entirely different “texture and feel” to them, and plainly look different. As to whether or not they were really struck in 1856, the jury is still out. Heck, the jury is even out when it comes to the S-3’s in entirety. It turns out there’s no real reason that some or any of these could not have been struck at a later date. Or at least that’s what John Dannreuther said to me when I asked him. He also said that all 1856 cents should be called what they are: “Patterns”.

The present piece is one of the ones designated “MS” by PCGS. The die striation lines are plainly visible. It strikes me as funny that in order to get an original mint state 1856, I ended up buying a coin certified as proof, and now getting an original proof 1856 cent, I ended up buying one certified as MS.

I’m going to show here the Heritage photos from when it last sold in 2007. See for yourself: