Continental note (one sixth of a dollar)
Resolution of 17 February 1776 ・ paper ・ 18th century ・ The Continental Congress (Philadelphia)
ONE SIXTH OF A DOLLAR — a Continental note for one sixth of a dollar, issued by resolution of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia on 17 February 1776 (a scan of the piece held by the Library of Congress). At the centre, the single word FUGIO, time flies, and a sundial, and below it 'MIND YOUR BUSINESS'. The design is handed down as Franklin's idea, and it passed on to the later Fugio cent. The Continental Congress, having no power to tax, leaned on this paper for the costs of the War of Independence. The more it was printed, the more the paper fell, and by 1781 it had all but ceased to pass — leaving in English the phrase 'Not worth a Continental'. The fruit of independence, and the memory of paper's failure. It is the second starting point in this country's story of money.