United States | |
| Value | 0.01U.S. dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | 10.2 g |
| Composition | Copper |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| "New Haven Restrike", probably produced at the Scovill Mint in Waterbury, Connecticut | |
| Design | "Mind Your Business",Sun, andsundial |
| Designer | Unknown, reputedlyBenjamin Franklin |
| Design date | 1787 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | "We Are One" surrounded by the words "United States" and 13 state chain links |
| Designer | Unknown, reputedlyBenjamin Franklin |
| Design date | 1787 |
TheFugio cent, also known as theFranklin cent,[1][2] is the first officialcirculation coin of the United States. Consisting of 0.36 oz (10 g) of copper and minted dated 1787, by some accounts it was designed byBenjamin Franklin. Its design is very similar to Franklin's 1776Continental Currency dollar coin that was produced in pattern pieces as potentialContinental currency but was never circulated.
On April 21, 1787, theCongress of the Confederation of theUnited States authorized a design for an official copperpenny,[3] later referred to as the Fugio cent because of its image of the Sun and its light shining down on a sundial with the caption, "Fugio" (Latin:I flee/fly, referring to time flying by). By some accounts, this coin was designed byBenjamin Franklin; as a reminder to its holders, he put at its bottom the message, "Mind your business". This design was based on the 1776 "Continental dollar" coin, which was produced in pattern pieces but was never circulated.[4]
The reverse side of both the 1776 Continental dollar coins and paper notes, and the 1787 coins, bore the third motto "We Are One" (in English) surrounded by thirteen chain links, representing the original thirteen colonial states.Following the reform of the central government with the 1788 ratification of the1787 Constitution, gold and silver coins transitioned to the motto"E pluribus unum" from theGreat Seal of the United States.[5]
In 1788, theBank of New York stored several thousand Fugio cents in a keg in its basement. In 1856, the coins were put into cotton bags and stored away again. The trove was rediscovered in 1926.[2] The coins were then given out as souvenirs and keepsakes to clients until 1948 when theAmerican Numismatic Society examined the remaining 1,641 coins. The cache became known as theBank of New York Hoard. Several of the coins were donated to the Society, others were sold to collectors.[2][6] All of the coins found were inmint state condition, most with browntoning and some with water damage.[6][7] The bank retained 819 of the coins.[6][8]
The coin has been a long-time favorite of collectors, especially specialists in colonial American or early Federal coinage. In January 2022, the Fugio Cent was re-classified by major coin grading services as a "regular-issue United States coin".[9][10]
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United States portal| Preceded by None | United States one-cent coin (1787) | Succeeded by |
