1857 Flying Eagle Cent

Here's one that has an interesting reverse ... at the periphery it is strong on the eastern side ... but not what you expect to see there. This is the coin I thought about buying ans dissolving to see if the yellow spots remain in the acid. I see lots of these with these specks, and I see 20 dollar gold images frequently. I know ... power of suggestion ... maybe, maybe not.

I can easily imagine fragments of precious metal floating around the mint in those days. I bought a silver eagle 3 pc set in 2006, and there were loose fragments of silver in that set.

For a 2 year series (discounting the 56 as a regular issue) there sure is anough to be of interest in this series.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wholesale-1...em337c28826f

Chance

The second coin posted is different as well. What in the minting process could cause something like this?

The third coin looks to have had a tough life. Maybe it was a metal detector find?

If there were gold imparted on that coin, surely it would have worn off by that time. The coin itself is so worn, much of the devices are gone and there is a great deal of corrosion. The gold, being softer, would have worn away much sooner than the copper... or fallen off the coin.