“Detective Newman is again on the case, describing a heretofore unknown coin that explains why the series 1787 and 1788 Vermont coppers with bust facing right display the distinctively British insignia of the crosses of St. Andrew and St. George in the shield on the reverse, and not the emblem of Vermont. After a thorough review of the literature regarding this phenomenon, Newman describes a counterfeit British halfpence excavated in Stepney, Connecticut, which can be punch-linked to the Vermont coppers, and demonstrates how the punches originally used to counterfeit the halfpence were later diverted to Vermont copper production after the June 7, 1787 Machin’s Mills agreement was signed. This finding settled a century-old scholarly debate.”