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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Publius2, post: 4947235, member: 105571&quot;]Someone will have to explain to me what this term &quot;dirty money&quot; is supposed to mean.&nbsp; Because other than outright contemporary counterfeits, there was nothing illegitimate about the state coinage issued during the period of the Articles of Confederation.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I think the familiarity concept has some merit as the Connecticut coppers do indeed have a design likeness to British coinage and it was always a challenge to introduce coinage and have it accepted by merchants and the public.&nbsp; But...</p><p><br /></p><p>The Connecticut Coppers of 1785 to 1788 are most definitely not counterfeit.&nbsp; They were struck by a private mint owed by Samuel Bishop, James Hillshouse, Joseph Hopkins, and John Goodrich in accordance with a granted right of the General Assembly of Connecticut on October 20, 1785.&nbsp; The authorization was for no more than L10,000 of lawful money in the form of halfpence of six penneyweight (144 grams) and to bear a design of a man&#039;s head on one side.</p><p><br /></p><p>The act also said &quot;Nothing in this act shall be construed to make such coppers a legal tender in payment of any debt, except for the purpose of making even change, for any sum not exceeding three shillings.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>The Assembly four days later passed another act:&nbsp; &quot;No person shall coin or manufacture any copper coin of any description or size without permission...from the General Assembly...&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>So, these Connecticut coppers were legal and struck under the authority of the General Assembly of Connecticut.&nbsp; Remember that the US won its independence in 1781 with Treaty of Paris signed in 1783.&nbsp; The former colonies, now neither colonies nor states, were more or less united under the Articles of Confederation until the Constitution was adopted, starting in 1787.&nbsp; The new United States did not pass a law creating a mint and coinage until 1792 and did not adopt decimal coinage until then.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are many different incarnations of the &quot;man&#039;s head&quot; on the Connecticut Coppers such as the Roman Head, African Head, Round Head, Double Chin, Broad Shouldered, Ornate Mailed, Scholar&#039;s Head, Small Head, Mutton Head, Horned Bust, etc.&nbsp; But none of them have been claimed to be a representation of George III.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, what is &quot;dirty money&quot;?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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