1787 Fugio & Colonial Cents (1787)

Intriguing History

Congress commissioned the Fugio cent in 1787 as the first coin authorized by the United States under the Articles of Confederation, and tradition credits Benjamin Franklin with the design's sundial, the motto "Fugio" (Latin for "I fly," a nod to time's passage), and the blunt reminder to "Mind Your Business." The coins were struck under a private contract just months after the Constitutional Convention wrapped up a few blocks away in Philadelphia. Rampant contemporary counterfeiting means genuine examples are scarcer today than the original mintage would suggest.