Connecticut began authorizing its own copper coinage in October 1785, one of the first states to do so after the Revolution, partly to address a chronic shortage of small change and partly because the state stood to profit from the seigniorage. The franchise was granted to private contractors — initially to Samuel Bishop, Joseph Hopkins, and others — who operated under loose oversight and produced coins of wildly inconsistent quality and weight.
The facing-bust obverse used on this variety was borrowed compositionally from contemporary British halfpence, though the execution varies considerably across the known dies. Miller die attributions remain the standard reference for distinguishing the many obverse and reverse pairings within the 1785 series.
Connecticut began authorizing its own copper coinage in October 1785, one of the first states to do so after the Revolution, partly to address a chronic shortage of small change and partly because the state stood to profit from the seigniorage. The franchise was granted to private contractors — initially to Samuel Bishop, Joseph Hopkins, and others — who operated under loose oversight and produced coins of wildly inconsistent quality and weight.
The facing-bust obverse used on this variety was borrowed compositionally from contemporary British halfpence, though the execution varies considerably across the known dies. Miller die attributions remain the standard reference for distinguishing the many obverse and reverse pairings within the 1785 series.