Owner Comments:
Pictured above, is a Silver New Haven Restrike Fugio Cent, dated 1787, and graded AU Details - Cleaned by PCGS. It is categorized as Newman 104-FF and W-17570, and was formerly a part of the Richard August Collection.
Newman 104-FF restrikes were produced, circa 1859, at the direction of numismatist Horatio Rust, who claims to have coined them in 3 different metals: 500 in a brassy alloy, sometimes called copper; 50 in silver; and one in gold. 25 silver specimens have been graded by PCGS, while 5 have been slabbed by NGC. Among the characteristics that distinguish the restrikes from the original Fugios are: 1) The pointed chin on the obverse sun, as opposed to the more rounded one on the originals; 2) Incuse ornaments between the numerals on the sun dial; and 3) Much thinner interlinked rings on the reverse.
HISTORY - In the late 1850s, interest in numismatic collectibles surged. The developing appetite for colonial and early American material included the iconic Fugio Cents, which were avidly sought.
Some have speculated that as many as 12 original additional dies were fashioned in England, possibly by Matthew Boulton of England's Soho Mint, at the behest of James Jarvis, and were sent to N.Y., after Congress had terminated the Fugio contract.
Over the years, numerous misconceptions about the Fugio restrikes have evolved. Some are attributable to such well known numismatic researchers as Eric Newman and Walter Breen. However, the scholarly research of Christopher R. McDowell and Julia Casey, published in the December 2019 issue of The Journal of Early American Numismatics, has served to clarify and/or dispel prior shaky conclusions.
The 12 authentic restrike dies, similar to, but not exactly like the traditional Fugios, produced circa 1788, migrated in different directions. 6 of the dies came to reside in the safe of Broome & Platt, eventually located at J.E. Bassett & Co.'s hardware store in New Haven, Conn.
In 1859, some 70 years later, teenager C. (Charles) Wyllys Betts (the famed medal specialist) discovered these Fugio dies there, and later helped Horatio Nelson Rust buy 5 of them. In turn, Rust took 2 of the original dies to Waterbury, with the intent of fashioning numerous additional sellable Fugio specimens. Because the 2 dies were too brittle and/or ill suited to be used with the stronger current coining presses, Rust elected to use them as a model to create more durable identical replica 104-FF dies, that were used to strike this most prevalent variety of Fugio restrikes.
Others who tried to directly strike coins from the original 1788 dies, wherever found, met with failure, as these dies invariably failed after a limited number of impacts. Rust eventually sold the original 104-FF dies to J. Colvin Randall, who, with John Haselton, used them briefly before they deteriorated. Rust sold the other 3 hardware store dies to John Curtis, whose coining efforts met with similar frustrations.
The remainder of the non hardware store dies were found by unknown person(s), who used them to generate a limited number of coins to deceive collectors. Some of these dies eventually found their way into the hands of Charles Ira Bushnell, who produced more fantasy pieces, and hence, additional varieties.