Probably the shortest minted coin series, the Flying Eagle One Cent coin is a rare find. I myself don't own any, nor have I ever seen one in person.
The flying eagle cent was first released on May 25, 1857. The coin, designed by James B. Longacre, shows an eagle in flight on the obverse, along with the words "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" along the top, and the year at the bottom. The coin's reverse depicts a ribboned wreath encircling the words "ONE CENT".
The coin's die was problematic, in that the raised sections were a bit too high, and the coins did not stack properly. Other problems in the relief caused some problems in reproducing the image of the eagle on the obverse, causing either the head or tail not to be fully struck. (Flying Eagle Cents from 1857 are prone to these errors.)
The Flying Eagle design was abandoned after only two years of use in 1858. In its short two-year lifespan, however, a total of 42,050,000 Flying Eagle cents had been minted.
United States Coinage