1788 VT 1/2P ET LIB INDE Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

Carrying the reverse legend ET LIB INDE rather than the more common INDE ET LIB word order, this 1788 Vermont copper half penny documents a die-cutting variation that numismatic researchers believe links Vermont and Connecticut copper production. Both series use abbreviations of the Latin phrase Et Libertatem et Independentiam ("Both Liberty and Independence"), and the shared reversed word order on certain Vermont and Connecticut dies suggests that some dies were cut by the same engravers or at shared facilities — likely Machin's Mills near Newburgh, New York, which is known to have produced coppers attributed to multiple states. Struck in copper at 6.5 grams with a 28 mm diameter and plain edge, the obverse displays the Vermont sun-over-mountains design with AUCTORITATE VERMONTENSIUM ("By the Authority of Vermont"), while the reverse shows a seated Liberty. Cataloged as RR-27 in the Roper-Ryder system and Whitman 2325, with PCGS #569, this variety is considered moderately scarce. The ET LIB INDE legend order is significant because it exactly matches the word order used on certain Connecticut copper reverses, providing one of several lines of evidence — alongside shared stylistic elements and metallurgical analysis — that historians use to connect the production networks of different state copper series. Vermont authorized its copper coinage in 1785 as an independent republic, and the 1788 date represents the penultimate year before Vermont joined the Union in 1791 and its independent coinage authority ceased.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce. The ET LIB INDE legend order links Vermont and Connecticut coinage.

Cross References

RR-27; Whitman 2325