Connecticut Copper Coins

About This Coin

Connecticut authorized copper coinage in October 1785, granting an exclusive franchise to Samuel Bishop, Joseph Hopkins, James Hillhouse, and John Goodrich, who contracted with various die sinkers and minting operations to produce copper halfpenny-weight coins. Struck at 28.5 mm diameter with plain edges, Connecticut coppers were produced from 1785 through 1788, generating the most extensive die variety series of any Confederation-era state coinage — over 350 known die combinations cataloged in the Miller reference system. The dies were cut by multiple engravers including Abel Buell, James Atlee, and others whose individual styles ranged from competent to crude, creating an extraordinary range of portrait interpretations that includes the famous "Muttonhead," "African Head," "Laughing Head," and other colorfully named varieties. The obverse typically depicts a mailed bust (armored portrait) facing either left or right, with the legend AUCTORI CONNEC (abbreviation of AUCTORITATE CONNECTICUTENSI, "By the Authority of Connecticut"), while the reverse shows a seated Liberty figure with INDE ET LIB. Connecticut coppers circulated widely beyond the state's borders throughout New England and the Middle States, serving as de facto small change in the absence of a federal coinage. The sheer number of die varieties makes Connecticut coppers one of the most deeply studied and actively collected areas in all of colonial American numismatics, offering a lifetime of research opportunities for dedicated specialists.