1787 Fugio Cent Help
Obone
Posts: 139 ✭✭✭
Hi everyone,
I've been offered this Fugio cent, but i don't really know much about grading this series and variety. Can any help me with the variety or grade? Any help appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
3
Comments
I don't know the variety. I will however, offer an opinion on grade. I'm thinking Fine + maybe VF. From your pics it appears to me to have nice surface quality.
I think it's an 18-U after looking in the Bowers colonial book. He suggests a pop of 125 to 250.
Do you have price guide info for this? I only have the redbook and I don't think its listed in there. Pop 125 to 250, is that rare for a series like the fugio cent?
Try the PCGS CoinFacts site. It has pricing information and rarity numbers for US coins including colonial and early pre-federal coins.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
What variety does 18-U correspond to?
It's simply one of the known die marriages. Here's a mug book of Fugio die marriages. Scroll down to 18-U and you'll see -- filled A in ARE, strong clash at 12:00 on the reverse, IN in BUSINESS tilted away from each other. Yours looks no worse than VF.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Ah got it. That really helps. Do these die marriages do much for value? Sorry, new to this type of stuff.
Some do, some don't. I'm not so up on which are which, but in your case, I don't think it does. I based this on searching the Heritage archive for "Fugio 18-U" and not finding a high rarity rating or premium on sales prices.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
you can look at sale prices for graded examples here: https://pcgs.com/auctionprices/details/1787-states-uni-4-cinq-ms-fugio/884
price ranges on these are pretty wide. The OP coin has a good qualilty planchet, full legends (some weakness on the right side of the sundial) and no bad marks. A nice example of the type.
All in all a pretty decent example, assuming there is nothing significant in that cut-off area at the top of the reverse.
When I first saw it, I thought it was struck on a straight clipped planchet.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire