Minty Fresh

Pennies are something we see everyday, but once upon a time they didn't exist. But thanks to Reuben Harmon Jr. we do. He was the one minting the pennies for the state of Vermont, the first state to issue copper coinage. On June 15, 1785, at a meeting  of the state legislature in Norwich, Vermont, Reuben was granted the right to coin copper in the state. Up to this time, people traded farm goods for items they need. Reuben's machines could make between 30 to 60 coins per minute using copper from Connecticut as Vermont hadn't started copper mining until 1793.

The 1785 and 1786 issues of pennies had a picture of a rising sun over a wooded mountain with a plow resting in the field below with the words VERMONTIS RES PUBLICA, which is Latin for REPUBLIC OF VERMONT and the date. On the other side was an eye within a circle from which 26 lines radiate (13 long and 13 short) with the words STELLA QUARTA DECIMA, which is Latin for Fourteeth Star. The mountains represent the Green Mountains as they are what the state was named after and the plow represents farming which is our state's number one industry. The other side tells us that while Vermont was an independent republic, it wished to join the original colonies on the flag and be the fourteenth star.

Of course this design isn't what we see today. It was changed into a head in profile with the words VERMON AUCTORI, which is Latin for "by the authority of Vermont" with a seated woman on the other side with the words INDE ETLIBE, which is Latin for Independence and Liberty and the date. This was most likely done to make them look like Connecticut's coins so they could both use the same coin.

In 1782, the United States Mint was established and began minting the country's coins, but Vermont was the start of it all and without Reuben Harmon Jr. minting those pennies for us, it might've been a much longer wait for coins around the country.

Sources: http://vermonthistory.org/images/stories/articles/greenmountaineer/makingamint.pdf