 1857 Snow PR2. Gem Brilliant Proof. Richly gleaming pale red-gold fields display outstandingly bold reflectivity. Both sides boast needle-sharp strikes with squared rims and meticulous detail in the eagle's feathers and the leaf veins of the reverse wreath. The number of surviving 1857 Flying Eagle Proofs is uncertain. Flying Eagle researcher Richard Snow identifies three Proof dies, this one showing a sharp spike upward from the denticle below the left ribbon end. Snow estimates a Proof mintage of only 50 pieces, a figure closer to the late Walter Breen's tracing of only a dozen examples. NGC has certified about 27 Proofs and PCGS some 47. These low numbers contrast with the Guide Book figure of 485 Proofs struck. As often happened in the 19th century, however, this larger figure may represent coins actually struck without deducting a significant number that may have been remelted, unsold at the Philadelphia Mint at the end of the year. Whatever the real figure may be, Gem Proofs are a rarity by any standard and this glittering example must place among the finest.
Ex Charles Jay Collection (Stack's, October 1967, lot 383).
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