Samuel Higley

He was also a practicing blacksmith, to whom in 1728 the Connecticut General Court granted exclusive rights for making steel for a period of 10 years.

Upon the death of his father, Higley inherited land near Simsbury, known as Copper Hill, which he augmented by purchase of 143 acres.

The first so-called "Higley coppers" (Trader's Currency Token of the Colony of Connecticut) bear the date 1737.

Although there is no firm evidence that links Higley to coin minting, since colonial times he has been associated with these Connecticut tokens.

Since most Higley Coppers are double struck, researchers believe that the hammer method rather than a screw press was used to make them.