This is a beautiful and profound relic of American history.

A U.S. penny, depicting Lady Liberty and dated 1792, which, according to CNN, recently sold for nearly $1.2 million, is embossed not with “In God We Trust”—that didn’t appear on U.S. coins till 1864—but with “Liberty Parent of Science & Industry.”

Who was responsible for this national heresy? “Thomas Jefferson and George Washington discussed the design in letters dated August 1792, before it was presented to Congress as an option for the new coin.”

This is yet another indication of how secular and progress-oriented the Founders were—and of the fact that the United States is not and never was a Christian nation.

Here’s to the real Lady Liberty—and to a future fashioned her way.

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