1787 Fugio Cent - AM CONG, Copper Hub Impress.

Coin Details

Description

Representing one of the earliest artifacts in the Fugio cent die-making process, this copper hub impression bearing the "American Congress" (AM CONG) design is cataloged in the Newman reference as an American Congress hub impression. Hub impressions are uniface trial pieces created by pressing a master hub into a blank metal disc to test or record the design before completing the transfer to full working dies — essentially a proof-of-concept for the die that would eventually strike finished coins. The AM CONG inscription identifies this as belonging to the earliest generation of Fugio-related dies, which referenced the Continental Congress (or "American Congress") before later production dies adopted the "United States" legend that appears on the vast majority of struck Fugio cents. The copper composition, rather than the softer white metal or lead used for many die trials, suggests this impression was made under full striking pressure to evaluate how the design would appear on the intended production metal. As a die trial piece, it occupies a fundamentally different category from finished coins: it is an artifact of the manufacturing process rather than a product of it, documenting a specific moment in the sequence from hub design to working die to struck coin. Extremely rare, American Congress hub impressions in copper are among the earliest Fugio-related pieces known and provide irreplaceable evidence of the die-production methodology employed at James Jarvis's New Haven facility where the Fugio cent contract was executed beginning in 1787.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare die trial piece. Among the earliest Fugio-related impressions.

Cross References

Newman; American Congress hub impression