1/2 Penny Ships, Colonies and Commerce

The "Ships, Colonies and Commerce" coppers were not issued by Prince Edward Island at all — they are anonymous trade tokens produced in Britain, almost certainly in Birmingham, and shipped to the colonial market in bulk. The island's merchants and government alike simply tolerated their circulation because small change was chronically scarce throughout the Maritime colonies in the early nineteenth century. No colonial authority commissioned them; they filled a vacuum.

The brass composition of PE-9B distinguishes it from the more common copper strikes of the same type — a minor production variant, not a deliberate policy choice.