1787 Fugio Cent - United States, 1 Over Horiz. 1 Brunk-W370 Welles & Wilcox

Coin Details

Description

This remarkable numismatic piece combines three collecting interests in a single coin: a 1787 Fugio cent of the "United States" reverse legend variety, the "1 Over Horizontal 1" obverse fraction feature, and a Brunk-W370 counterstamp attributed to the Welles & Wilcox mercantile firm. The underlying Fugio cent displays Benjamin Franklin's sundial obverse with FUGIO and MIND YOUR BUSINESS alongside the chain-link reverse encircling WE ARE ONE, with the fraction bar in 1/13 formed from a sideways numeral 1 punch. The Welles & Wilcox counterstamp was applied after the coin left the New Haven mint, repurposing it as a merchant advertising token — a common practice in the early American republic where the scarcity of official small change led businesses to counterstamp existing coins as de facto trade tokens bearing their firm's name. The Brunk catalog, the standard reference for American merchant counterstamps, lists this as W370, placing it within a documented network of commercial activity that used coins as advertising media. Very rare with this counterstamp, the piece bridges multiple collecting specialties: Fugio cent die variety collectors value the United States legend and fraction variety, while counterstamp specialists pursue the Brunk-W370 Welles & Wilcox imprint, making it desirable across overlapping numismatic communities.

Rarity Notes

Very rare with counterstamp. The Brunk-W370 Welles & Wilcox counterstamp is a desirable merchant mark.

Cross References

Newman; Brunk-W370; United States, 1 Over Horizontal 1