Featured An Introduction the Fugio Cent

Cheech9712 · Dec 26, 2021

johnmilton said: ↑

Greetings fellow inmates!

I just learned to day the governor is going to make our house arrest offcial. I hope that I will be able to go out for food.

Given all the doom and gloom, I decided to dust off another old article from 2010. I never published this one so I "fattened it up" a little.

In the late 1780s a glut of circulating, light weight copper coins was damaging the fragile United States economy. Some of these coppers were legitimate pieces that several states were issuing under the provisions of the Articles of Confederation. Under that form of government, which preceded the U.S. Constitution, each state was allowed to establish their own monetary system and issue money to support it. There were also foreign coins in circulation, which had been the standard practice since the colonial period.

View attachment 1094661 View attachment 1094662

The 1887-8 Massachusetts copper coins were the best made of the pre-Constitution state coinages. Unfortunately it cost more to produce them than their face value!

View attachment 1094672 View attachment 1094673

Spanish silver, like the 1773 half reale circulated in America.

The worst problem was a growing number of underweight counterfeit copper coins which almost all bore a resemblance to the British half penny. Several nefarious minters were producing these coins. One source was Machin’s Mills, which was located in Newburgh, New York. It was producing both legitimate and counterfeit coins. In an effort to stabilize the situation, Congress authorized a national coinage which came to be known as the Fugio cent.

View attachment 1094674 View attachment 1094675

A Machin's Mills counterfiet half penny

The new coin was supposed to be a “cent” with a value of 1/100 of a Spanish Milled Dollar. Since the Confederation Government did not have a national mint or the funds to establish one, a contract was offered to a private mint to make the coins. The winner of that contract was James Jarvis, who got a leg up on the competition by offering a bribe to the secretary of the treasury.
Although Jarvis had produced the Connecticut cents and was experienced in coin making, he did not have enough capital to complete the contract. Jarvis borrowed copper from the government to get started and left for Europe to find additional financing.
During Jarvis’ fund raising efforts, his company produced about 400,000 cents. They also illegally diverted some of the government’s copper to produce Connecticut “cents” or coppers. Previously Jarvis’ old business, the “Company for Coining Coppers,” had made those pieces for the Connecticut Government.

View attachment 1094677
A Connecticut copper or "cent"

The Fugio Cent design was similar to the Continental dollar, which it is now believed is a medal that was issued in Europe after the Revolutionary War. The obverse featured a sundial, the date, the word “Fugio” and the phrase, “Mind your business.” These words, which have been attributed to Benjamin Franklin, met, “Times flies, work hard and make a success of your business.” The reverse of the coin had a continuous chain of 13 interlocked links and the motto “United States … We are one,” in the center. This design represented a call for unity among the 13 states that were then loosely held together under The Articles of Confederation.

Continued, next post

View attachment 1094682 View attachment 1094684

1787 Fugio Cent, Club Rays Variety

Click to expand...

I get it now

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Cheech9712 · Dec 27, 2021

johnmilton said: ↑

Greetings fellow inmates!

I just learned to day the governor is going to make our house arrest offcial. I hope that I will be able to go out for food.

Given all the doom and gloom, I decided to dust off another old article from 2010. I never published this one so I "fattened it up" a little.

In the late 1780s a glut of circulating, light weight copper coins was damaging the fragile United States economy. Some of these coppers were legitimate pieces that several states were issuing under the provisions of the Articles of Confederation. Under that form of government, which preceded the U.S. Constitution, each state was allowed to establish their own monetary system and issue money to support it. There were also foreign coins in circulation, which had been the standard practice since the colonial period.

View attachment 1094661 View attachment 1094662

The 1887-8 Massachusetts copper coins were the best made of the pre-Constitution state coinages. Unfortunately it cost more to produce them than their face value!

View attachment 1094672 View attachment 1094673

Spanish silver, like the 1773 half reale circulated in America.

The worst problem was a growing number of underweight counterfeit copper coins which almost all bore a resemblance to the British half penny. Several nefarious minters were producing these coins. One source was Machin’s Mills, which was located in Newburgh, New York. It was producing both legitimate and counterfeit coins. In an effort to stabilize the situation, Congress authorized a national coinage which came to be known as the Fugio cent.

View attachment 1094674 View attachment 1094675

A Machin's Mills counterfiet half penny

The new coin was supposed to be a “cent” with a value of 1/100 of a Spanish Milled Dollar. Since the Confederation Government did not have a national mint or the funds to establish one, a contract was offered to a private mint to make the coins. The winner of that contract was James Jarvis, who got a leg up on the competition by offering a bribe to the secretary of the treasury.
Although Jarvis had produced the Connecticut cents and was experienced in coin making, he did not have enough capital to complete the contract. Jarvis borrowed copper from the government to get started and left for Europe to find additional financing.
During Jarvis’ fund raising efforts, his company produced about 400,000 cents. They also illegally diverted some of the government’s copper to produce Connecticut “cents” or coppers. Previously Jarvis’ old business, the “Company for Coining Coppers,” had made those pieces for the Connecticut Government.

View attachment 1094677
A Connecticut copper or "cent"

The Fugio Cent design was similar to the Continental dollar, which it is now believed is a medal that was issued in Europe after the Revolutionary War. The obverse featured a sundial, the date, the word “Fugio” and the phrase, “Mind your business.” These words, which have been attributed to Benjamin Franklin, met, “Times flies, work hard and make a success of your business.” The reverse of the coin had a continuous chain of 13 interlocked links and the motto “United States … We are one,” in the center. This design represented a call for unity among the 13 states that were then loosely held together under The Articles of Confederation.

Continued, next post

View attachment 1094682 View attachment 1094684

1787 Fugio Cent, Club Rays Variety

Click to expand...

A nice member sent me this link cuz I asked 1787 Fugio cent

Log in or Sign up

Featured An Introduction the Fugio Cent

Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

Guest User Guest

Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

Share This Page

Home

Competitions

Gallery

Showcase

Directory

Members

Useful Searches