1856 Flying Eagle Penny Value

1856 Flying Eagle Cent

Key date

An early Flying Eagle issue, collected for its first-year date.

1856 Flying Eagle Penny: front (type example, 1858 Flying Eagle cent) — Type example: 1858 Flying Eagle cent. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; source)

1856 Flying Eagle Penny: back (type example, 1858 Flying Eagle cent) — Type example: 1858 Flying Eagle cent. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; source)

Often fakedAltered 1858 dates are the usual fake; cast copies exist. Check the signs below and weigh it.

Value by condition

Penny Value estimate · values as of Q4 2026

Worn (Good to Very Fine)

$4,000 – $12,000

G-4 – VF-20

Uncirculated (MS-60)

$29,000

By grade

Typical value at each grade. Penny Value estimate.
Grade	Value
G-4Good	$4,000
VG-8Very Good	$6,200
F-12Fine	$9,000
VF-20Very Fine	$12,000
XF-40Extremely Fine	$18,000
AU-50About Uncirculated	$22,000
MS-60Mint State (Uncirculated)	$29,000
MS-63Mint State (Uncirculated)	$29,000
MS-65Mint State (Uncirculated)	$44,000

Values as of Q4 2026 · Penny Value estimate · based on 6 recorded sales · few sales, so treat it as a rough guide

Penny Value estimate, 2026-Q4, from public sale records, mintage and survival data. It isn't a price guide or an offer.

How Penny Value estimates values

Check your own penny

Take a photo of each side. Penny Value reads the date and the mint mark, tells you if it could be a 1856 and what to check.

Check your own penny

Penny Value is an Android app for now, so it isn't on the App Store. The values and checks on this page are free to use.Penny Value is an Android app. Open this page on your Android phone to check your own penny with a photo.

How to identify it

Flying eagle on the front, dated 1856
Most coins offered as 1856 are altered 1858 cents: compare the 5 and 6 with references
Most were struck as proofs or later restrikes for collectors; weight about 4.67 g

To check yours, photograph

Date close-up

Specs

Series: Flying Eagle Cent
Year: 1856
Mint: Philadelphia (no mint mark)
Mint mark: None (all made in Philadelphia)
Metal: Copper-nickel (88% copper, 12% nickel)
Weight: 4.67 g
Mintage: 634
Business-strike count; estimates of the total struck (with proofs and restrikes) vary
Source: Wikipedia
Designer: James B. Longacre

Other 1856 pennies

1856 Proof
Philadelphia · Proof · 1,500 made
Proof
$1,800proof

1856 penny values · Every Flying Eagle Cent · Penny value chart