On December 31, 1851, Napoleon III decided to take the same symbolism as his uncle and use eagles at the top of the poles of his flags. To do this, a new ceremony of distribution of eagles was organized on May 10, 1852, after the coup d'état of December 2, 1851. The stakes are high because it offers the future Napoleon III the opportunity to gauge the loyalty of his armies. On this occasion, he called representatives of all the garrisons of France and Algeria. The eagles, made from a drawing by Jean-Auguste Barre (1811-1896), then cast in golden bronze, once again have their wings extended and their beaks more open. In all, three models will succeed each other under the Second Empire. Following closely the technological progress and concerned about the well-being of his army, Napoleon III asked the founders to lighten considerably the weight of the eagles. In 1854, an eagle made of galvanoplasty (namely the application of a layer of metal on a metal surface using an electrochemical process) was proposed to the emperor. Finally, in 1860, the founder Marion proposes an eagle in copper aluminum, then golden. The weight is reduced, not exceeding one kilo. The flag eagle presented here belongs to the latter model. The copper aluminum is visible under the gold, which gives this eagle a pinkish appearance. In this case, the absence of a caisson made it possible to identify it, with near certainty, as that of the 45th infantry regiment (only one eagle was put up for sale at the same time without its caisson). During the Second Empire, this regiment took part in the Battle of Magenta on 4 June 1859.