1788 VT 1/2P Bust Right Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

As one of the final issues in the Vermont copper series, this 1788 halfpenny with bust facing right documents the twilight of state-authorized coinage in America. Cataloged as RR-26 and Whitman 2320, the bust-right orientation is less common than the left-facing portrait type for the 1788 date, making it a key variety for collectors pursuing comprehensive Vermont copper collections. The obverse features a laureate bust facing right with the legend AUCTORI VERMON (By the Authority of Vermont), while the reverse displays a seated figure of Liberty holding an olive branch with the inscription INDE ET LIB (Independence and Liberty) and the date. Vermont's copper coinage was authorized by the state legislature in 1785 and contracted to Reuben Harmon Jr., who operated a coining facility in Rupert, Vermont. Production ceased after 1788 as the ratification of the United States Constitution in that year established federal authority over coinage, rendering state monetary issues obsolete. Vermont would not join the Union until 1791, becoming the fourteenth state three years after its copper production ended. Moderately scarce, the 1788 bust-right halfpenny occupies a historically significant position as a tangible artifact of American federalism's transition from the decentralized monetary system of the Confederation period to the centralized coinage authority that the Constitution vested exclusively in Congress.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce. Among the final Vermont copper issues.

Cross References

RR-26; Whitman 2320