1/2 Penny Genuine British Copper

Nova Scotia's copper coinage of this period was a response to a chronic shortage of small change that plagued the Maritime colonies throughout the early nineteenth century — a problem made worse by the near-total absence of officially sanctioned British regal copper in circulation. The "Genuine British Copper" designation was itself a direct commercial counter-move against the flood of lightweight, debased tokens issued by private merchants, and the coins were struck in England to a weight standard meant to distinguish them from that low-quality competition.

Breton 887 is well-documented as a legitimately issued colonial halfpenny rather than a merchant token, placing it in a legally ambiguous but historically significant middle category.