I never knew these were suspect till watching a youtube today. I've had this coin about 5 yrs. It has a discolored band on the obverse. Over 17 million were struck with the 1857 date, a huge number that was intended to encourage people to exchange older coins for them. The series only lasted until 1858 because of a production problem due to the designs of the obverse and reverse. The head and tail of the eagle would not strike up properly or the wreath on the reverse would be ill-defined.
Diam 19.17 (spec is 19 mm)
Weight 4.71 (spec is 4.67 g)
Note: triple checked those measurements on the naked coin. My calibers are metal tipped so don't want to scratch. Both instruments are economical versions, although calibration with 100 g weight was verified. Below this are my coin and the NGC reference (looks like MS65 or better, mine isn't).
Counterfeit Reference
https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/9783/counterfeit-detection-flying-eagle-cent/
“closer inspection reveals certain design elements like the back wing fading into the field”
“cast appearance”
“poorly defined denticles on a Flying Eagle Cent can be a sign that the coin is a counterfeit.”
Below are some images and mine. I guess the reason for posting is my own objectivity is biased. I can't tell if the lost detail on the wreath (rev) is due to wear or one of the problems mentioned above in their experimentation when minting.
VAMs
https://www.ngccoin.in/variety-plus/united-states/cents/flying-eagle-cents-1856-1858/820294/
What say ye?
My Coin
Genuine
