The Fugio Cent
The Fugio Cent
Minted in 1797, the Fugue cent is the United States’ first official coin. It was made out of copper and thought to have been designed (at least in part) by Ben Franklin.
The front of the coin has a sun and sundial above the word Fugio, Latin for “I Fly.” At the bottom of the coin are the words “Mind Your Business,” thought to have been Franklin’s advice to American citizens, to, well,… mind their business.
On the back of the coin there are 13 linked circles (representing the 13 original colonial states) forming a chain around the words “We Are One.”
