Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Penny - Copper 'Laughing Head'
| Issuer | State of Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Year | 1787 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A seated female figure, representing Liberty, occupies the central field, facing right. She holds a branch or spray in her left hand and an olive branch or staff in her raised right hand, with a liberty cap or shield resting at her side. The date 1787 appears in the exergue below the figure. The surrounding legend INDE ET LIB, an abbreviation of INDEPENDENTIA ET LIBERTAS (Independence and Liberty), is arranged around the periphery, punctuated by pellet or star stops, within a toothed border consistent with the obverse. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Connecticut authorized its own copper coinage in October 1785, contracting the work to private minters — a chaotic arrangement that produced extraordinary variety across hundreds of die combinations. The "Laughing Head" is among the most recognizable of these, named by collectors for the peculiar, almost manic expression that resulted from a die cutter working well outside classical convention. It is not a single variety but a loose cluster of related obverse dies sharing that distinctive character.
Connecticut's minting contracts were plagued by weight fraud; many pieces were struck deliberately underweight to maximize profit, which is why the weight range on surviving examples spans nearly two full grams.