1/2 Penny - Copper 'Mailed Bust Right'

Connecticut was among the most prolific issuers of state copper coinage under the Articles of Confederation, authorizing its mint in 1785 and ultimately producing more varieties than any other state. The 1788 issues were struck by private contractors — primarily John Goodrich and colleagues operating out of New Haven and Harwinton — whose loose oversight produced an almost bewildering number of die combinations. The "Mailed Bust Right" designation distinguishes a specific obverse die grouping within a series where variety attribution is effectively a specialty unto itself.

By 1788, Congress was already moving toward federal coinage authority, and Connecticut's contracted production ceased the following year.