Fugio Newps
Rittenhouse
Posts: 614 ✭✭✭✭
I picked up some great Fugios at the past Baltimore show and the subsequent SB auction. I bought four very nice upgrades at the show: a 10-T, 12-Z, 20-X Perfect State, and 21-I, all in solid VF with great surfaces. At the auction, I won three superb Betts fantasy pattern pieces in silver: 101-BB, 101-EE, and my fav, 103-EE. I also own a 101-EE in copper, the Bushnell/Norweb piece.
Although they are total fabrications, I find the Betts fanatsy pieces absolutely fascinating. The best evidence is that, in order to validate the fantasy patterns, Betts had the common New Haven Restrik dies made and then lead Horatio Rust to "find" them. Once Rust promoted finding "genuine Fugio dies," Betts and accomplices leaked the fantasy patterns on to the market.
While I doubt that these pieces actually fooled anyone, there were, and remain, very popular. As I note int the attached article, those who owned these fantasy pieces reads like a “who’s who” of period numismatists, including William Appleton, J. Carson Brevoort, Charles Bushnell, Edward Maris, Joseph Mickley, and Loren Parmelee.
So, for your viewing pleasure, here they are. And I encourage those interested in Fugios or the NHRs to read the attached article.
Comments
Nice coins. The article wa a good read.
Wowzer!
Yeah those will do
Thank you. That's about the best compliment you can offer to a writer.