Ben Franklin’s Copper Fugio Cent
Designed by Benjamin Franklin, the copper Fugio coin
was the first coin circulated in the new United States.
On one side of the first coin minted in
the new United States you see a sun
dial—not a king or queen or anyone—
and embossed words that urge us to begin
to use time wisely, words we cannot spin
in any other way: “Fugio” is one,
and “Mind Your Business”—apt advice homespun
by Benjamin Franklin, who designed this thin
coin made of copper. On the other side
are thirteen interlocking rings that stand
not only for the states, but Franklin’s list
of character-building virtues that, if tried
by each of us, would help to make this land
a Godly nation that would long persist.
Geoffrey Smagacz writes mostly from Mexico. His rhymed and metered poetry has been published in various literary magazines and e-zines, including 14 by 14 and Dappled Things. His murder mystery, Reportedly Murdered (Wipf and Stock), is now available through online venues. A collection of his fiction, published under the title of A Waste of Shame and Other Sad Tales of the Appalachian Foothills (Wiseblood Books, 2013), won the 2014 Independent Publisher gold medal for Best Mid-Atlantic Regional Fiction.
Geoffrey, I really liked the historical feature of your poem. Amazingly you wrote the sonnet with two sentences only. You still maintained a rhythm and rhyme in your run-in lines.
Thank you, Roy
Geoffrey, thank you for this historical tidbit about Ben Franklin. I previously associated him with his kite/lightning experiments and invention of bifocals.
Thank you, Cheryl
Goeffrey
Hello, I’ve met you! and I’m pleased to see you are posting on Classical Poets. Thank you for this well-crafted sonnet, You remind us of the versatile possibilities in this form.
With your “plain prosy style” and clever effortless rhymes, you have captured the “spirit” of Ben–the canniest (some would say most conniving!) Founder of our country. I note that one cent is worth about 36 cents in today’s dollars: but these coins are valued at $900 to $3,000 by collectors. Whatever Ben touched, turned to outsized profit! including the making of a Revolution.
The lines that catch my attention are:
you see a sun
dial—not a king or queen or anyone—
In these few words, you capture the incredible audacity of our Founders. We don’t acknowledge entitled kings, but we make our own way in the world.
Most sincerely
Mary Jane (Myers)
Thank you, Mary Jane. I think that we meet at that wonderful poetry retreat in Steubenville.
This is wonderful. I hadn’t known about this coin, and I’m happy to know about it, and really enjoyed your description of it in sonnet form. I love the way your enjambments made the lines flow (or fly, perhaps, like time?)
(I, too, believe I have met you, at the same place Mary Jane did.)
Thank you, Cynthia. Yes! Steubenville. That was a unique poetry retreat.
Geoffrey, we need your historic poem in honor of the first cent! Sadly, America is no longer minting pennies, as the copper in each coin is said to be worth six cents at present-day value. Therefore change must be rounded up or down–and I find my computer keyboard has no cent sign. May Ben Franklin’s character-building virtues involved in keeping track of pennies (or even pinching them) continue nonetheless.
Thank you, Margaret