The Motto Series Part 1: Mind Your Business

Coin mottos are as old as coins. Throughout Monetary History, designers and engravers have attempted to make the most out of the limited space on a coin with words that convey valuable truths or meaningful sentiments.

Motto History is a huge topic. You can expect more parts in the series as we learn more 🙂

We begin our motto history in North America with the Continental Congress’s first coins.

Mind Your Business

The first pre-US Pennies and Dollar Coins had the motto, “Mind Your Business,” minted on the obverse. Benjamin Franklin is credited with designing the Congress Copper, but that may be more legend than fact. Many things attributed to Benjamin Franklin were designed by people who worked for him, rather than by the man himself. The same can be said for Thomas Edison, Michaelangelo, and other historical teachers who maintained workshops.

The Conteniental Congress penny is also called the Fugio cent, and Fugio is Latin for “to flee.” Taken with the motto, “Mind Your Business” the clever designer encourages us to mind our pennies by keeping a close eye on our ventures.

The Fugio cent was a copper coin minted for over a decade, with the infamous motto, and a sundial beneath a shining sun on the obverse. On the reverse, thirteen rings, much like the Olympic rings, interlock as a symbol of unity for the thirteen British colonies. The links form a chain that surrounds the center field. At the center of the coin, a thicker circle is engraved with the words “United States.” Within that circle are the words “WE ARE ONE.” The first US dollar coin had a similar design, was minted on a pewter, brass, or silver planchet, and had enough room on the interlocking rings to name the colonies.

In 1786, ten years after the first run of Continental Dollar coins, the original United States motto, “E Pluribus Unum,” was minted on United States coins. The motto translates to, “Out of many, One.” The traditional United States national motto was made to celebrate the union of the first thirteen states. In 1956, the United States national motto was changed to “In God We Trust,” but the old motto remains on numerous government seals and some US currency.

The traditional motto and the 1956 motto are found on coin and paper currency to this day. The modern 2023 US Shield penny and American Innovators Dollar coins contain only the original motto, E Pluribus Unum. Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Half-Dollars contain both the traditional and the 1956 mottos.

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Read more:
“The Fugio Cent of 1787: Introduction.” Department of Special Collections. Coins and Currency Collection. University of Notre Dame Libraries.