Fugio cents, minted in 1787, are cool because they are considered the first United States penny. Cooler still, they were designed by Benjamin Franklin. Hence the Masonic iconography (i.e. the sundial) and the unusual phrase on the coins: MIND YOUR BUSINESS. Not to mention the fact that the motto on the coin is simply “FUGIO", Latin for “I flee”. As in, I’m assuming, I flee the King of England’s tyrannical rule. Hilarious to think we almost had “Fugio” instead of “E pluribus unum".
The coin shown above is in ridiculously good condition, hence it sold at auction for a little over $25,000. But they can be found aplenty in much worse condition, and costing between one and three hundred bucks. Such as this guy, on eBay, for $235:
So yeah, I want one. But, a couple of days ago, I learned of an American coin that is even more awesome than the Fugio cent. Check out what is likely the first U.S. coin EVER, from 1783, four years before the Fugio:
It was never circulated, but it is likely that Alexander Hamilton held it in his hand. The ‘500’ denoted the number of units the coin would be worth, based on the Spanish monetary system. From PBS:
In 2013, David McCarthy spotted a rare coin in an auction catalog and immediately had a hunch it was the first coin minted by the fledgling United States of America in 1783. Not the first run of coins, mind you, but the very first one.
McCarthy, an experienced numismatist (coin collector) bought the silver coin for $1.18 million.
…
If McCarthy's evidence is solid, the coin he has was mentioned in the diary of Robert Morris, a Philadelphia merchant who financed the American Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence. From 1781 to 1784, when the young nation was still governed by the Articles of Confederation, Morris served as the superintendent of finance for the United States.
In an April 2, 1783, entry in his diary, Morris writes of "a Piece of Silver Coin being the first that has been struck as an American Coin."
A week later, he was visited by Alexander Hamilton – who was to become the first Treasury secretary of the United States six years later and who presumably examined the coin himself. Thereafter, Morris writes, the two corresponded on the "subject of the Coin."
www.npr.org/…
I just freaking love stories like this. Preciousssss
What About You?
What’s the coolest coin in your collection?
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