(c. 1860s) Fugio Cent - Bushnell Fantasy, Copper

Coin Details

Description

Associated with Charles Ira Bushnell — the prominent nineteenth-century collector and author of the landmark 1858 work "An Arrangement of Tradesmen's Cards, Political Tokens, &c." — this copper fantasy piece draws on Fugio cent design elements but is not an official Fugio cent, a restrike from original dies, or a reproduction of a specific known variety. Instead, it represents a creative interpretation or composite of Fugio cent design motifs produced during the 1860s, likely as a numismatic novelty for the collector market. Bushnell was one of the most influential American numismatists of the mid-nineteenth century, and his name attached to a piece carries significant provenance weight even when the object itself is a fantasy rather than a historical coin. The distinction between a "fantasy" and a "reproduction" is important in numismatic terminology: reproductions copy specific known coins, while fantasies create new combinations or designs that never existed as original issues, making them creative numismatic artifacts rather than copies. Not listed in the standard Newman Fugio cent reference, which catalogs only original strikings and legitimate restrikes from documented dies, the Bushnell fantasy occupies a separate collecting category alongside other nineteenth-century numismatic curiosities and collector-made pieces. Very rare as a documented collector fantasy piece from the 1860s, the Bushnell attribution transforms what might otherwise be dismissed as a mere counterfeit into a collectible artifact of Victorian-era numismatic culture and the creative engagement of early American collectors with the nation's coinage heritage.

Rarity Notes

Very rare collector fantasy piece from the 1860s.

Cross References

Bushnell Fantasy; not in standard Newman reference