Some believe that there are as many as 60 examples extant of 1857 Flying Eagle cents clashed with a $20 Double Eagle obverse design. If this was indeed the case, it would make this a very scarce variety. However, I personally disagree with that figure and I would estimate that less than half of this estimate actually exists!
One of the main reasons why I believe this coin exists in such a small quantity is due to the simple fact that this variety hardly ever comes up for sale. And when they do come up for sale, it is usually the exact same coin, which makes the coin practically unattainable.
Image Courtesy of Rick Snow www.indiancent.com
Furthermore, very few coins show up in the population reports for this variety. The population figures should provide a general idea of their scarcity, since the variety itself is fairly transparent even with the naked eye. Likewise, it would make a lot more sense if most coins or at least many more had been graded by now, since they command a high premium even in the lowest grades.
As of 2009, PCGS has only graded six examples of this variety in all grades combined. The highest graded example is a PCGS AU58. As far as I am aware, there are no Mint State coins in existence for this variety and there has never been one reported. Only about a dozen or so coins of this variety have sold at public auction. This includes all graded coins that are attributed, non-attributed coins in holders and even raw coins.
The 1857 Flying Eagle cent clashed with a $20 Double Eagle variety was produced when an 1857 Flying Eagle cent obverse die and a $20 Double Eagle obverse die collided when there was no coin planchet placed between the two dies. Therefore, each die left part of the design impression on the opposing die. Since coin die designs are always the opposite of the actual coins, the highest portion of the dies are the fields. Because of this, the clash marks on the 1857 Flying Eagle cent clashed with a $20 Double eagle are only visible in the fields of the coin, and not on the design of the coin.
It is unknown as to why there was a Flying Eagle obverse die and a $20 Double Eagle obverse die in the same press at the same time in the first place. Obviously, the Mint had less stringent policies in 1857 than they do today when minting coins. However, what is even more compelling is the fact that both dies were struck together with no coin planchets placed between the two dies. Furthermore, there are no mule coins known to having been struck from this pair of dies.
To make matters even more controversial, there are two additional 1857 Flying Eagle cents known to have clashed with different denominations. The second variety of an 1857 Flying Eagle cent was clashed with a Seated Liberty quarter. The third 1857 Flying Eagle cent variety was clashed with a Seated Liberty half dollar. The 1857 Flying Eagle cent clashed with a $20 Gold Double Eagle is unquestionably the scarcest of the three clashed-die varieties of the 1857 Flying Eagle cents.
For the 1857 Flying Eagle cent clashed with a $20 Double Eagle variety, the obverse of the 1857 Flying Eagle cent displays slight traces of a $20 Double Eagle design.
The tip of Liberty's nose from the $20 Double Eagle can be seen toward the top of the M in AMERICA on the 1857 Flying Eagle Cent.
The upper portion of Liberty's nose from the $20 Double Eagle extends to the top of the A of AMERICA and right above the F in OF on the 1857 Flying Eagle cent's obverse.
Liberty's lips from the $20 Double Eagle can also be noticed on the back leg of the R in AMERICA on the 1857 Flying Eagle Cent's obverse.
Liberty's chin from the $20 Double Eagle can be seen below the C and A of AMERICA on the 1857 Flying Eagle Cent's obverse.
The front part of Liberty's neck from the $20 Double Eagle can be seen running down vertically through the eagle's talons on the 1857 Flying Eagle cent's obverse.
Liberty's hair strands from the $20 Double Eagle can be seen running down vertically below the eagle's beak on the 1857 Flying Eagle Cent's obverse.
Did a mint employee confuse the dies three different times? If so, why then did he turn the press on when there were no coin planchets three different times? Why are there no mule coins or if they were test strikes, where are they? It's also mysterious that there are Indian cents from around the same time known to have been struck in completely different metal alloys. For example, there are three known 1900 Indian cents that were struck in $2.50 gold planchets.
There are so many questions for the varieties of 1857 that we will probably never have answers for. This coin has it all - mystery, scarcity and history, which are all necessary ingredients of a tremendously desirable coin.
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