"The first federally authorized coin was the Fugio Cent . . . similar in design to the Continental Currency dollar of 1776 [which] was privately sruck in 1787 by contract with the government." From p. 9 of the 2003 Red Book. In addition to the Continental Currency dollar authorized by the pre-constitutional confederation government, there were also 1 cent and 1/2-cent coins issued by Massachusets, but the Fugio Cent was the first coin of the United States of America under the constitutional grant of authority to Congress to coin money..
