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1/2 Penny - Copper 'Draped Bust Left'
| Issuer | State of Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Year | 1787 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A seated female allegorical figure, representing Liberty, is shown facing left, holding a long staff or cane surmounted by a Phrygian liberty cap in her right hand, and an olive branch in her extended left hand. The figure is rendered in a classical style typical of late 18th-century American colonial coinage. The date 1787 appears within the circular reverse legend INDE. ET LIB., an abbreviation of 'Independentia et Libertas' (Independence and Liberty). |
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| Additional information |
Connecticut was among the first states to exercise its coinage authority under the Articles of Confederation, passing its minting act in October 1785. The state contracted production to private operators — principally the partnership of Samuel Bishop, Joseph Hopkins, James Hillhouse, and John Goodrich — who ran the operation out of New Haven. The arrangement was effectively a profit-sharing license, and the contractors had every incentive to maximize output with minimal copper content, which many demonstrably did.
The 1787 draped bust left type encompasses a sprawling family of die marriages, accounting for the density of PCGS numbers assigned to this single year and design. Connecticut copper varieties number in the hundreds across all years, making this one of the most extensively documented colonial series in American numismatics.