1/2 Penny - Copper 'Draped Bust Left'

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.