Fugio Cent , REAL ? Looking to buy

Hi , I am a student and am interested in buying a fugio cent to add to my colonial currency collection . I found this one online with a current asking price of about 200 . Is it real and is that a fair current value price ? Let me know

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It seems to be genuine, I see nothing to indicate that it isn't. I think I would try to get it for a bit less, but $200 isn't too far out of line.

 

Thank you ! Do you think the crack/chip on the coin will affect grading in the future ?

 

I believe that is a planchet void on this coin. I wouldn't know about grading, probably they would call it corroded, environmental damage or who knows. Been collecting colonials for over 40 years, never had one graded and never will. I guess most colonial collectors are like that! Colonial are the most fascinating coin field in my opinion, enjoy!

 

Looks genuine to me and I wouldn't mind paying that for it. The planchet crack/void is original to the planchet not from damage. It would not prevent grading, but the moderately corroded surfaces may result in a details grade.

 

What do you think of this one?

 

To my eye, the position of the "O" in FUGIO in the OP's example is different than the one directly above - it sits lower than the "I" by a good amount.

Are there multiple die types for this coin? That would be one explanation. The other would be a questionable origin for the worn coin.

I am not anything close to an expert in any of this. It is just a casual observation.

Z

 

The rays are different on the OP's coin. There were a couple of different types. Not sure about the position of the "O" though.

 

I don’t know that I have ever seen one in such an immaculate state before. Is this yours?

 

It's mine. I paid 2 bucks. It's a reproduction! Weird though, the advertisement showed a coin with the word "copy" stamped into it, but they came without that stamp.
See: https://www.muzzux.com/home/350909-...manufacturing-copy-wholesale-fugio-coper.html

Don't buy from that company, though. They are shady.

 

I had been wanting to do a display with some continental currency that I have. I believe I could employ one or two of those in my display.

 

JMO, I would hold out for a better one. These come up enough and if you're willing to spend $200, surely you'd go a little more and get one with more eye appeal and details. Looking at this one, my eyes would constantly be drawn to the big chasm in the planchet and I would wind up regretting the purchase.

 

Fair enough, but I've looked and I have not seen one much better than that without spending $600 or much more.

 

Nothing about it sets off alarm bells for me. You may want to try to match up your coin to one of these:

http://varslab.com/fugio.html

At $200, that coin is showing a lot of detail. The planchet flaw is nowhere near as distracting or problematic at this grade than it might be if the coin had VF to AU levels of detail. Ditto argument regarding the corrosion.

I say buy it if you like it especially if the chances of buying a much more expensive coin are slim to none.

 

It looks like a decent example, with surface corrosion and a planchet flaw as made.
I don't think 200 is out of line. That Fugio has a ton of character. Straight graded examples say in VF are rarely priced under 1000.

 

A much nicer one for four times the price:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1787-Fugio...274458460972?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

 

I have a fugio coin.
Continental dollar.
Can someone tell me if its real?

 

I think that looks like a good deal! Also, it's funny that folks are questioning the authenticity compared to a repro (a fake). Pardon my ignorance, but other than the Sales Corner here, eBay and a local coin auction (Charter Oak) which is the extent of my experience, where can you find something like a Fugio Cent for less than $400? I look at Heritage and Great Collections, and those all seem to be coins that are $800-$50,000 range on average, which is out of my price range. Once I'm vaccinated I do plan on checking out local coin shops, which I've really not done much - the few I entered just didn't seem like friendly places, but I wasn't as into collecting in prior decades as I am now. I saw a long list of sellers posted the other day and checked out a few of the "recommended" ones, but again, the prices (commensurate with the high quality) were not for a low grade / budget collector like myself. I've never spent more than $500 on a coin.

 

Your pictures didn't come through,please start your thread and provide proper pictures.

 

Planchet defects are no unusual for Fugio cents. These coins were made on the fly because the people who were involved in making them were not totally on the up and up. Abel Buel who cut the dies had once been branded and had his ear clipped for raising the value of a colonial note, which was a form of counterfeiting.

Having said that, the planchet defect does lower the value a little, but not a lot on a piece like this. The 2021 Red Book says that most common varieties in Good condition are worth $225, retail. I think that you might get this piece for a little less than $200 given the environmental issues.

Here are the two coins in my collection. This is the Club Rays variety.



And here one of the Bank of New York hoard pieces. Believe it on not, Fugio Cents are relatively common in Mint State because of a hoard of pieces that the Bank of New York had until the late 1940s. That's not to say that they are cheap, however. This one cost me a little over $3,000.



These coins were struck on a drop press. The hammer die is raised and then dropped on the anvil dies with gravity providing the force to strike the coin. If you want to see a drop press in action, check out the Universal Islands of adventure Atlantis area. As you are walking toward the Harry Potter area, it's on one of the side streets on the right.