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1/2 Penny - Copper 'Draped Bust Left'
| Issuer | Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A seated female figure, personifying Liberty, faces left at center, holding a sprig or olive branch in her left hand and a long staff or scepter in her right hand. A globe or shield rests at her feet to the lower right. The figure is rendered in flowing classical drapery. The legend INDL ET LIB appears around the periphery, separated by rosette or floral stops, with the date 1788 inscribed in the exergue below a ground line. |
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| Additional information |
Connecticut's 1788 copper coinage was produced under contract by a rotating cast of private partnerships — most notably Jarvis & Co. — operating out of makeshift facilities in New Haven and East Haven. The state legislature had authorized coinage in 1785, but oversight was effectively nonexistent, and contractors routinely exceeded their quotas, debased the copper, and flooded the market with lightweight planchets. By 1789, the new federal government's moves toward a national coinage made the whole enterprise moot.
The sheer number of die varieties across the KM#22 series reflects how many different hands cut these dies, often with little coordination. Miller's reference catalogs over 350 Connecticut copper varieties in total.