No, SoCal, thiis is a "Continental Curency Dollar" not a Fugio Cent. They do have similar devices, in both cases attributed to the ideas (if not the work) of Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac." The same images also are found on Pennsylvania paper money of the day. Supposedly, these copper Continental Curency coins were to be patterns, examples passed among Congress and others to show what American silver would look like... if the American government had any silver. There was some debate among numismatists that these copper dollars were intended as currency, but that is at best a conjecture, lacking epigraphic evidence, i.e, anything written or printed at the time, such as an entry in the Congressional journal, a debate about it, etc. The Fugio Cent was more successful, though not yet a true coinage issue as we understand it. The Continental Curency dollar runs no less than $7000 in Good. The Fugio Cent can be found for $400 in Very Good. The fake coin in this thread is, as they say, e pluribus unum: one out of many. They have been made for collectors at least since 1876 when numismatist Montroville Dickson was celebrating the Centennial with restrikes and remakes. In the 1960s, numismatist Robert (?) Bashlow, made a few thousand more, not only selling them to coin collectors with ads in COIN WORLD, but, also marketing them through the Boy Scouts of America.
Hmm I must have been scammed, sold one to the dealer after he "identified it" as a fantasy piece. Or maybe the one I had was a fantasy piece. Since my forte is ancient, European pre-1800, and US Civil War and up, I guess I got taken for a ride. This one just somehow didn't look right to me. Ah live and learn. Thanks for the informative post marotta.
One dead giveaway on these is if there is a seem on the edge. This indicates that the coin was cast from two patterns joined together. An original would have been coined from a planchet and would have a plain edge with no seem.
