1787 Fugio Cent - States United, 1 Over Horiz. 1 Brunk-M181 R.C. Marble

Coin Details

Description

Combining three layers of numismatic interest, this Fugio cent features the "States United" reverse legend variety with the distinctive "1 Over Horizontal 1" fraction bar, overlaid by a Brunk-M181 counterstamp attributed to R.C. Marble. The underlying Fugio cent — cataloged in the Newman reference and bearing the States United legend rather than the more common "United States" — displays the fraction 1/13 where the horizontal bar is actually a repunched numeral "1" lying on its side, a die-cutting anomaly that has fascinated variety collectors since its first documentation. The Brunk-M181 counterstamp was applied after the coin entered circulation, likely by a merchant named R.C. Marble who used the small punch to mark coins as advertising tokens or store cards — a common commercial practice in early American commerce when purpose-struck tokens were expensive to commission. The Fugio cent itself, authorized by the Continental Congress in 1787, bears Benjamin Franklin's sundial design on the obverse with the admonition FUGIO ("I fly," referring to time) and MIND YOUR BUSINESS, while the reverse shows thirteen chain links representing the united states. Very rare with the counterstamp intact, this piece appeals simultaneously to Fugio cent variety specialists, counterstamp collectors cataloging the Brunk reference, and historians documenting the secondary commercial use of early American coinage as advertising media in the post-Revolutionary economy.

Rarity Notes

Very rare with counterstamp. The Brunk-M181 R.C. Marble counterstamp adds significant numismatic interest.

Cross References

Newman; Brunk-M181; States United, 1 Over Horizontal 1