My research began in 2003, after a client had recruited me to locate, purchase and submit a specific variety of patterns for non-invasive metallic testing. Suffice it to say I caught the bug and decided to test 1854 and 1855 Large Flying Eagle cent patterns (LFEs). Why? Because it was a blast identifying the composition of each LFE.
I eventually decided that I needed a goal. For the first year or two, that kept my simple mind occupied. However, though I had always loathed history class in school, I became curious about how the LFE came into being.
I then did some traveling to find various relevant Mint records. Soon learning that my Mint-researching skills were limited, I enlisted the help of an experienced numismatic researcher who found documents for me in the National Archives. In 2009, I placed an advertisement in the tenth edition of the Judd Book requesting owners of LFEs allow me to have their coins non-invasively metallurgically tested, with a few takers.
Over the years, I was driven to learn as much as I could about LFEs, filling in the blanks wherever possible. I bought every book that might have even the most tangential relevance, and, with the gradual evolution of the Newman Numismatic Portal, I spent hundreds and hundreds more hours digging for anything and everything.
Finally, in 2018, my head was bursting with all the information I had accumulated. However, there remained one area that I couldn’t figure out, namely when and why the various die combinations were struck. Thankfully, my library of pictures was already large, and there are many images of various specimens available online. Studying these images for well over 100 hours has revealed a great amount of information. While I would never be so pompous as to call myself an expert in die states, I have seen enough specimens that I can confidently present my findings. These findings will be published to this site over time. Although the bulk of these findings will remain the same for many (or all) years to come, there are certain to be at least a couple which may need to be modified in the future.
However, enough questions remain that I feel compelled to research. Consequently, I am requesting that you allow me to study your LFE if you own an unusual 1854 or 1855 LFE, whether it be dateless, doublestruck, be made of white metal, have unusual markings, be deep red in color or have other unusual color or even if it is counterfeit. If you feel more comfortable, pictures and a write-up from you (or maybe a Zoom meeting) would be great.
During my research, for a period of time, I accumulated a large quantity of LFEs. At its peak, the hoard numbered approximately 75 LFEs. The following are partial certification numbers which identify LFEs which remain in their immediate post-testing holders:
PCGS: 105076XX, 109041XX, 2212319X
NGC: 1582269-XXX, 3046364-XXX
NCS: 5085929-XXX, 5225913-XXX
Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have.
kayfamily1854@gmail.com