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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Long Beard, post: 5191334, member: 108674&quot;]Quite a few are on the right track as to why mint state survivors are so far and few between. What gets over looked is the hoarding of silver. Silver you ask? The price of the shiny metal had risen beyond that of it&#039;s face value. As such, large quantities were hoarded, tons going into Mexico and South America to be melted. Soon, copper faced the same. Although for different reasons. It was a fear of the ravages brought on by war combined with a rise in cost associated with coppers use in the war effort. With the mint unable to strike enough small cents to meet demand, Civil War tokens and Store Cards (merchant specific coins) largely composed of bronze, quickly outpaced the government issued copper cent. During the war years coinage paid for a large armies on both sides. The average person needed more due to a rise in cost for goods as a result. Despite the high mintage numbers of the Flying Eagle and the new Indian Head cent, which had mintages in the 35 million range in 1864-65, by 1866 the number dropped to under 10 million. Why? Because these hoarded cents were returned to circulation by the bag full following the war. Again, looking at the numbers, levels seen during the 1860&quot;s would not be reached again until 1880. So in short, there was no great need for cents over a fifteen year period with an over abundance of pre-Civil War coinage circulating. Which included Flying Eagles still much in circulation. Don&#039;t forget, this country experience an economic boom during those years following the war.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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