Machin's Mills Copper Coins

About This Coin

Produced at a clandestine minting operation established by Captain Thomas Machin near Newburgh, New York, Machin's Mills Copper Coins represent one of the most fascinating intersections of legitimate and illegitimate coinage production in early American numismatics. Operating from approximately 1787 to 1789, Machin's Mills produced imitation British halfpennies, Connecticut coppers, and other pieces using a combination of original dies, copied dies, and muled die combinations. The operation occupied a legal gray area: while counterfeiting British coins was technically forbidden, the chaotic monetary conditions of the Confederation period created enormous demand for any copper coins of reasonable weight and appearance. Struck in copper, measuring 28 mm in diameter with a plain edge, Machin's Mills coins vary considerably in quality from well-executed imitations that closely resemble their prototypes to crude mulings that combine unrelated obverse and reverse dies. The mill itself was located in the hills of Orange County, New York, positioned remotely enough to avoid easy detection by authorities. Within the Post-1776 Private and Regional Issues (1778-1820) series, Machin's Mills coins challenge traditional notions of authenticity and legitimacy in early American coinage, occupying a fascinating gray zone between authorized state coinage, private entrepreneurship, and outright counterfeiting that reflects the monetary disorder of the 1780s.