Owner Comments:
The Fugio coppers, sometimes alternatively called Franklin or Ring Cents, have the distinction of being the earliest coins issued under authority of the US government. This occurred during the Confederation Period, prior to the US Constitution. As the US Mint had not yet come into existence, all work was privately contracted.
Dies for the coins were crafted by Abel Buell, based upon designs and mottos provided by Benjamin Franklin. The obverse features a sun, with quaint facial features, shining down on a sundial demarcated in Roman Numerals. The sun's rays exhibit diverse characteristics: some fine and pointed; others with interspersed convex or concave club-shaped features. In addition to the 1787 date, the obverse displays two unusual legends: The Latin word "Fugio" translates into I Fly. The "Mind Your Business" language was not intended to impart the derogatory connotations of today. The total message Franklin wished to convey was: Time passes rapidly, so diligently attend to your affairs (stay focused), and we will all accomplish great things.
The reverse features 13 peripheral interlinking rings, symbolic of the unity of the original colonies. In the center are the words "We Are One", surrounded by "United States" in locations and word order that vary between specimens. The Fugios come in numerous (at least 59) varieties, originally categorized by the scholarly work of Eric P. Newman, as supplemented by Alan Kessler. Among the diverse variants that would engross any specialist are: numerous prominent die clashes; a date in which a vertical 1 is punched over a horizontal 1; an ornament stamped on the sundial to cover an unintended extra I in the Roman Numeral IIII; a variety where a C was used instead of a G in the word Fugio; and the use of cinquefoils, and in at least one instance, a cross in lieu thereof.
The contract to strike Fugios was awarded to James Jarvis, after he offered a $10,000 bribe to William Duer, Head of the Treasury Board. Jarvis had previously acquired a controlling interest in the company that produced coppers for the State of Connecticut. While he was on a business trip to Europe, Jarvis' father-in-law, Samuel Broome, (and probably with Jarvis' knowledge and express approval), used the copper advanced by the US government to strike the more profitable lightweight Connecticut coppers. Ultimately, only about 400,000 of the anticipated millions of Fugio pieces were ever struck. After further governmental scrutiny, the Jarvis contract was terminated, and its shady participants fled the country. The US Congress had learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of relying on private contractors, one that eventually resulted in formation of the US Mint. As a postscript, in July 1789, a New York merchant named Royal Flint contracted to purchase the remaining Fugios held in the US Treasury, on credit, at 1/3 face value. He ended up in debtor's prison, after a very sharp drop in copper prices thwarted his ambitious plans.
A keg of several thousand uncirculated Fugios (a hoard) was acquired by the Bank of New York in 1788. It was stored in a basement, and forgotten until 1856. Thereafter, the coins were slowly distributed to officials and favored bank customers over the years as souvenirs and keepsakes. The trove was rediscovered in 1926. Ultimately, some Fugios were donated to the ANS that had examined the remaining hoard, some sold, and a smaller quantity was retained by the Bank.
Around 1860, coins that have come to be known as New Haven Restrikes were produced and distributed with the probable involvement of the Scovill Manufacturing Company and Horatio N. Rust. Use of the word restrikes is erroneous, in that the pieces were coined from newly created or newly found imitation dies, not from the original dies. The strikings in gold, silver, copper, and brass were actually minted in Waterbury, Connecticut, not New Haven.
The Fugio Cent pictured above is a 1787 Four Cinquefoil Pointed Rays "States United" Variety, graded MS 64 BN by NGC.