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Pictured above, is a 1787 Fugio copper, featuring 2 unique 8 pointed stars located within the reverse central label, and replacing the cinquefoils found on most pieces. It has been graded XF-45 by PCGS, and has been variously categorized as: Newman 15-Y, Breen 1313, and W-6915. This Fugio, which weighs 153.6 grains, has an impressive provenance, traceable as follows: Thomas L. Elder sale of 11/18/1910 (Lot 184); Hillyer C. Ryder; F.C.C. Boyd Estate; John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part 1, 10/2003 (Lot 295); and the Ross Family Collection.
This Fugio variety was the product of a distinct reverse die that was paired with no other obverse die. The stars, in nearly vertical alignment, are in relief, located within 2 depressed areas. As is typical, the upper star is sharper than the lower one. The pronounced die break in the lower reverse chain, indicates this is a late die state striking.
The 8 pointed stars Fugio variety carries a URS-10, with approximately 250-499 estimated specimens. PCGS has graded a total of 160, with a high grade of AU 58. NGC has slabbed 42, with a high grade of MS 62.
HISTORY - 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 (referring to time). 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. 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.
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.