1778 So-Called Dollar HK-860d, Continental Congress Confederation

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as HK-860d, this tin Continental Dollar restrike carries the legendary FUGIO sundial and linked-rings design attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Prof. Montroville W. Dickeson produced Continental Dollar copies during the 1876 United States Centennial celebration in Philadelphia. Thomas K. DeLorey's planchet analysis corrected the earlier attribution of these pieces to Thomas L. Elder. Dickeson struck pieces primarily in white metal (hundreds) and copper (a few handfuls), with limited production in silver (only 50 according to John W. Haseltine), plus gold, pewter, and lead variants. These Centennial restrikes are cataloged as HK-852 through HK-856. The Continental Currency Dollar of 1776 is one of the most iconic pieces in early American numismatics. Its obverse features a sundial with the sun's rays, the Latin motto FUGIO ('I fly,' referring to time), and MIND YOUR BUSINESS — a rebus attributed to Benjamin Franklin meaning 'time flies, so attend to your affairs.' The reverse displays thirteen linked rings, each bearing a colony's name, surrounding AMERICAN CONGRESS and WE ARE ONE. Dies were cut by Elisha Gallaudet, a New York engraver, who struck the pieces using a makeshift private mint in Freehold, New Jersey. The original was produced in pewter, brass, and silver, though no contemporaneous authorization from the Continental Congress has been found. The HK numbering system groups so-called dollars broadly by type: exposition and commemorative pieces in the lower numbers, with monetary, miscellaneous, and later additions in higher ranges. Lettered suffixes (a, b, c, d) typically indicate variant compositions or die states of the same basic design, while entries above HK-900 include pieces added in later catalog supplements.

Rarity Notes

Confederation Dollar variants in the HK-858 through HK-866 range survive in moderate numbers. Various compositions exist across the series. These pieces attract interest from collectors of both so-called dollars and early American coinage reproductions.

Cross References

HK-860d; PCGS #643612