1856 S3

This is THE 1856 Flying Eagle cent. While all 1856's were struck with polished "Proof" dies, this issue was struck at normal speeds on a regular press to test the new planchet, new metal, new size and new design. They struck 634 + pieces. We know that these were the original pieces struck and distributed to Congress by studying the dies and the progression of wear the dies incurred. The amount of S3's we see in the market compared to S9 also correlates nicely with the reported strikings.