On The Rocks
Abel Buell
BY BOB JONES
Original Abel Buell stamping die which he carved to produce the Fugio cent.
Abel Buell (1742-1822) was a Connecticut Yankee from the town of Killingsworth, now Clinton. If you go to Clinton today, you can see a plaque on the local bank recognizing Buell and his many accomplishments including being a lapidary, perhaps the first lapidary in this country.
AN AMERICAN PATRIOT
Abel Buell was an associate of Paul Revere. He met Paul when both were learning to be silversmiths from Ebenezer Crittenden who also became Buell’s father-in-law. Revere convinced Abel to join the Sons of Liberty, a group dedicated to resisting the English rule in the colonies.
Abel and his bride lived in the family cottage in Killingsworth. One night the local sheriff saw a light in the loft window of Buell’s home. Curious, he got a ladder and climbed up to peek into the lighted room. There he saw Abel sitting at a table busy counterfeiting English bank notes by changing the denominations to a higher amount.