The Fate of Paper Inscribed with "Time Flies"

FUGIO, Time Flies

There is a one-sixth of a dollar Continental currency note, issued by a resolution of February 17, 1776. In the center is an image of a sundial and the word "FUGIO." In Latin, this means "I fly," often interpreted as "time flies." Below it is inscribed "MIND YOUR BUSINESS." This design is said to have been conceived by Franklin.

This currency was issued by the Continental Congress, which had gathered in Philadelphia. This "government," composed of representatives from the various colonies aiming for independence, had no power to levy taxes. The path chosen by a government without a treasury to fight a war was to print money on paper. In June 1775, the printing of this paper money began in order to buy weapons and support soldiers.

A Downhill Roll

At first slowly, and then rapidly, the value of the paper money plummeted. By 1780, the value of Continental currency is said to have sunk to around one-fortieth of its face value. A paper dollar was but a shadow of a silver one.

In the marketplace, the same goods were given entirely different price tags depending on whether one paid in paper or in silver. People went to market carrying wads of bills and returned with only a few items in exchange. The more that was printed, the less the paper was worth, and trust in the currency collapsed.

An Epitaph in an Idiom

Then, in 1781, the Continental currency effectively ceased to circulate. Even when offered in the marketplace, no one would accept it. A currency's life ends when it is no longer accepted.

The death of this paper money lives on in the English language as an idiom: "Not worth a Continental"—meaning not even worth as much as a Continental bill. It is an expression for something utterly worthless. For the name of a currency to remain as a synonym for worthlessness is a uniquely cruel epitaph. The paper printed with the ideals of independence was buried inside an idiom.

The Memory of a Paper Failure

The war bore the fruit of independence. It also left behind the memory of a paper currency's failure. This experience predated the printing and collapse of the paper money known as the Assignat in France.

This memory became the origin of the later United States' deep-seated apprehension toward paper money. Next to the birth cry of the nation stood a paper gravestone. Carrying this scar, the newly independent country set about the task of defining its national structure.