1776 CONTINENTAL $1, PEWTER 'EG FECIT' MS64

EG FECIT VARIETY. BRIGHT FLASHY SURFACES FOR A SPECIMEN STRUCK IN PEWTER. As Christian Gobrecht would do 60 years later with the first variety of his 1836 Gobrecht Dollar, Elisha Gallaudet "signed" one of his obverse dies for the 1776 Continental Dollar. Gallaudet's "signature" appears as EG FECIT, a Latin inscription that translates as "E(lisha) G(allaudet) made it." This die was prepared after those with the CURENCY and CURRENCY spellings, and we have been unable to discern why the engraver did not "sign" his earlier work for this issue. Most examples of the EG FECIT variety were struck on planchets that are generally referred to as pewter, although they are actually tin. The extreme rarity of both brass and silver impressions means that specialists seeking a representative of the 1776 Continental Dollar, EG FECIT variety would be wise to focus their buying attention on one of the extant pewter (read: tin) pieces.