Bermuda had no local mint and relied entirely on privately contracted coinage throughout the colonial period. This 1793 issue was struck in Birmingham, almost certainly by the Soho Mint under Matthew Boulton, whose operation dominated British colonial copper production during the 1790s. The coins were shipped as a commercial consignment to address a chronic small-change shortage on the islands, where Spanish and cut coinage had long filled the gap inadequately.
Surviving examples in decent condition are scarcer than mintage assumptions suggest — Bermuda's humid, salt-air environment accelerated corrosion on circulated copper at a rate that devastated lower-grade survivors.
Bermuda had no local mint and relied entirely on privately contracted coinage throughout the colonial period. This 1793 issue was struck in Birmingham, almost certainly by the Soho Mint under Matthew Boulton, whose operation dominated British colonial copper production during the 1790s. The coins were shipped as a commercial consignment to address a chronic small-change shortage on the islands, where Spanish and cut coinage had long filled the gap inadequately.
Surviving examples in decent condition are scarcer than mintage assumptions suggest — Bermuda's humid, salt-air environment accelerated corrosion on circulated copper at a rate that devastated lower-grade survivors.