In 1854 and 1855 U.S. Mint Melter & Refiner James Curtis Booth had an agenda — to convince Treasury Secretary James Guthrie to back the use of nickel in the coin that would replace the all-copper Large Cent. In 1853, Booth had advocated the use of German silver, which contained copper, nickel and zinc in varying proportions. At the time, Mint Director James Ross Snowden adamantly opposed the use of German silver.
Though it is not clear why Booth shifted gears and in 1854, some patterns were struck in copper-nickel (without the zinc). Although there is no evidence that the 1854 Large Flying Eagle was struck in binary copper-nickel, in 1855, the Large Flyer was struck in a wide continuum of both bronze/oroide and copper-nickel/German silver. Judd numbers for 1855 four-leaf reverse Large Flyers are as follows:
J-167: This is pure copper and is the second most common 1855 four-leaf. The only J-167 of which I am aware that is not strictly 100% copper is one that tested out as 99% copper, 0.4% gold and 0.6% miscellaneous.
J-167A: This is listed in the 10th edition of the Judd book as pure nickel. This means one of three things. Either 1) it is not pure nickel; 2) it was struck after 1876; or 3) it does not exist. My reasoning? Joseph Wharton did not produce malleable pure nickel until the early 1870s and no coin I have ever tested has come back as pure nickel.
J-168: This is the most common 1855 four-leaf. It is bronze (generally considered 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc combined. My test results show a range for copper between 87.4% and 97%
J-169: This is very rare. It is struck in oroide, though it is erroneously listed in the 10th edition of Judd as 80% copper and 20% nickel. I’ve only confirmed the existence of one oroide specimen, and it tested out as 81% copper, 15% tin and 4% zinc. The best I can give for a definition of oroide is that the composition will have copper in the low 80s and tin close to 10% or above.
J-170: This is 80% copper and 20% copper, but the 10th edition of Judd erroneously lists it as 90% copper and 10% nickel. (which is actually J-170A. I believe that any coin believed to be a J-170 is more likely a J-170A.
J-170A: This is defined as 90% copper and 10% nickel. This is pretty rare, with probably about fifteen in existence. The ones I have tested have ranged from 86% copper and 14% nickel to 93% copper and 7% nickel. It would not surprise me to see an example come in close to 80% copper and 20% nickel, which would technically be the J-170, but is really just a part of the continuum.
J-171: This is supposed to be 60% copper and 40% nickel. Though I have never had one come back with this composition, I believe it quite possibly exists, inasmuch as James C. Booth confirmed that some pattern cents of early 1854 were struck in 60% copper and 40% nickel.
J-171A: This is pretty rare, with about fifteen in existence. Whereas all nine that I have tested (or am directly aware of) consist of between 64% and 69% copper, 16% and 19% nickel and 14% and 18% zinc, in the early 1980s, all of those studied by Carmichael and Wilson (as reported in the April 1986 Numismatist) came back as 75% copper, 12% nickel and 13% zinc. I have no idea why my results and those of Carmichael and Wilson are so disparate, without any overlap. Unfortunately, it makes no sense.