A trader's currency token was issued by Samuel Higley of Simsbury, Connecticut

Simsbury, Connecticut

Simsbury is a suburban town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 23,234 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's twenty-first town in May 1670.-Early history:...

 in 1737. Higley owned the mine which produced the copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

, which was located near Granby, Connecticut

Granby, Connecticut

Granby is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,347 at the 2000 census. The town center was defined as a census-designated place known as Salmon Brook in the 2000 census....

. He smelted the copper ore, designed and engraved the dies, and struck the token

Token coin

In the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...

s himself. They wore out extremely easily, due to the purity of the copper. These tokens are of historic interest to collectors of British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 and Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 coins, and are also of interest to collectors of US coins. They are extremely rare.

Obverse details

There are three different versions. On all, there is a deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

, and some wording. Earliest versions said 'THE VALUE OF THREE PENSE' The second version was inscription 'VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE'.

The reason for this is that so many coins

COinS

ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...

 were put into circulation

Circulation (currency)

The social system in which we live has usually developed to the stage for money to be used as the medium for the exchange of goods and services. Hence the money is an important aspect of the general social or macroeconomics system...

 that the "three pence" local value was deflated, and area merchants complained. So, Dr. Higley re-valued the coin, leaving it up to the local economy

Economy

An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

 to set its own value

Value

Value or values may refer to:Concepts of worth:* Value theory – overview of approaches in various disciplines* Value ** Value * Value ** Theory of value ** Value investing...

.

There was one version that said 'THE WHEELE GOES ROUND'.

Reverse details

There are three hammer

Hammer

A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...

s, toped with crown

Crown (headgear)

A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...

s.

The first coins mint

Mint (coin)

A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...

ed had the word 'Connecticut' appearing on them. Later versions were inscribed 'I AM GOOD COPPER'. Even later strikes were worded 'J CUT MY WAY THROUGH'.

See also

• Coins of British America
  Coins of British America
  The coins of British America were issued in 1688 and in between 1722 and 1724. These coins are extremely sought after by those collecting coins of the British Empire and the Commonwealth.-The First US Coins:...