Hi all...new to the forum. I recently purchased a 1857 Flying Eagle Cent, and just today noticed that the obverse-reverse are not exactly 180 degrees opposite each other. So when I flip the coin over, the other side is at an angle compared to the first side. I'm fairly new to numismatics...is this common for coins in general or this series in particular?
Hi, and welcome to the forum. :hail: I've found that many older coins, such as Flying Eagle and Indian Head cents, Two Cent pieces, Shield and Liberty Head nickels, and Barber coins, often were struck with slightly rotated dies. I also understand that earlier types were even more commonly struck this way. I believe I recall that there was a tolerance level of something like 10%, although someone may have the exact figure available for you. Seems that coins with severe die rotation, of say 90% or more, are very collectible, and highly sought after. There's an old website you may be interested in checking out when you have time. You can see it by clicking the link below. http://www.rotateddies.com/census.htm
Welcome. Many US coins form that period have rotated reverses. But, they are still very collectible. The Other Frank
Welcome Hepcat, your coin has what is known as Medal alignment. This is the most sought after degree of rotation, and I would suspect that your coin is worth a premium as a result.
Thanks everyone for your replies. The rotation on this coin is about 30 degrees or so. So basically when I flip it over, the opposite side is at about "1 o'clock" when it should be strictly vertical at "12 o'clock".
