First U.S. Cent to be Offered at Auction!

Dallas, Texas: On April 21, 1787, an act of the Continental Congress authorized the minting of the very first copper cent, called the "Fugio cent" by numismatists due to its motto (which means "I fly" in Latin). Incorporating designs and elements suggested by Benjamin Franklin, this design was originally minted by James Jarvis of New Haven, Connecticut, who eventually had to flee the country when he was unable to complete his contract for 300 tons of Fugio cents due to mismanagement of the copper supply that had been provided to him by the United States government.

Only about 400,000 Fugio cents were initially produced (a small fraction of the amount contracted for), and those proved unpopular with the public for a variety of factors, not the least of which was the fact that Jarvis had produced them at slightly under the approved weight of 157.5 grains, equivalent to 10.2 grams. That fact, and a copper panic in 1789 which devalued copper coins by about 75%, spelled the end of the Fugio, at least as far as widespread public use was concerned. A certain quantity was stashed in the vaults of the Bank of New York, to be discovered in 1856, at which time they slowly began to enter the collecting community. As the first cent produced by the newly-formed United States, this coin is a popular one with collectors.

"There are several varieties of these coins known to exist," said Greg Rohan, President of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "made up of the various obverse and reverse dies known to have been made by Jarvis, and also by Machin's Mills of Newburgh, New York. The coin we are offering in our upcoming auction represents a rare die marriage produced by the Machin's Mills firm, known today by the nomenclature Newman 2-C, that also marks the only pairing of either die. The obverse die is significant for two reasons. It has the engraving blunder FUCIO and the rays are club-shaped with concave ends. Five different Newman Concave Ends varieties are known, and all are very rare to extremely rare. Eric Newman wrote the definitive reference on these coins in 1952."

"The present piece is surprisingly sharp for the VF30 grade," said Rohan. "Softness on the sun's face appears to be a characteristic of the die, and most sundial numerals are bold. Peripheral striking incompleteness affects the lower left obverse border, but the remainder of the legends are clear. The pale brown surfaces are unabraded, although a few minor planchet fissures are present. In terms of wear and sharpness of strike, the current lot is equal to the Stickney-Ford example, and is superior to the latter when surface preservation is accounted for. Since the Ford specimen sold for $27,600 in October 2003 during a less heated market, a comparable bid will likely be insufficient to secure the present example."

"This coin is described as extremely rare on page 84 of the newly-released 2007 Guide Book," said Rohan, "and represents a significant opportunity for the alert specialist."

Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the 1787 1C Fugio Cent, Club Rays, Concave Ends, FUCIO VF30 PCGS in their upcoming Signature Auction, to be held May 31-June 3, 2006 as the official auctioneer of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expo, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA, 90802.

1787 1C Fugio Cent, Club Rays, Concave Ends, FUCIO VF30 PCGS

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website, www.HeritageAuctions.com.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.