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Beginning in 1785, and continuing into 1786, Reuben Harmon, Jr.'s Rupert Vermont mint produced the earliest Vermont coppers. They display a novel landscape motif. The dies used to generate them, probably fashioned by William Coley, a skilled New York City silversmith, feature a sun overlooking the pine tree lined Green Mountains, with a farm plow positioned in the foreground. Two 1785 sub-types exhibit the word "Vermonts"; one also dated 1785, utilizes the word "Vermontis"; while the remaining three 1786 sub-types display "Vermontensium" on the obverse. All were attempts to Latinize the name of the Republic of Vermont, which successfully attained statehood in 1791.
The Vermontensium coppers are the most common of the three spelling variants. They have been assigned the designations: RR-6 (Ryder/Richardson, Bressett 4-D; RR-7, Bressett 5-E; and RR-8, Bressett 6-E, respectively.
The coin pictured above is a 1786 Vermontensium, RR-7, Bressett 5-E, graded VF 35 by PCGS. Its obverse contains two pine trees in the mountain range, to the right of the sun, and seven to the left. The tree nearly touching the N in Vermontensium serves as an attribution diagnostic. The "U" in the legend word Publica was not properly positioned originally, and therefore had to be recut to the west. A buckling of the obverse die caused most specimens of this variety to exhibit weakened details in the upper left half of the plow.
The reverse of the RR-7 is modeled after the pointed ray variety of the Nova Constellatio coppers. In its center is the all-seeing eye of Providence, from which emanate a series of 13 rays surrounded by 13 stars. The peripheral legend, "Quarta Decima Stella" translates into "the 14th star", which symbolizes Vermont's aspiration to become the 14 state.
The pictured specimen is unusual for the variety, in that it presents relatively pristine surfaces, with no planchet flaws, and just modest even wear. As with virtually all known examples, no hint of original red color is evident. The RR-7 was the first Vermont issue to incorporate the standard coin turn alignment, with the obverse oriented to 12 o'clock, and the turned reverse oriented to 6 o'clock (180 degrees).
Estimates of how many RR-7 coins exist today widely range from 65 to 300.
Although the landscape motif was well received, it was abandoned later in 1786 in favor of the Connecticut style, with its generic large bust obverse designs, and the reverse seated effigy, both taken from the British halfpenny. It was hoped that the use of familiar images would promote the coins' ready acceptance into the channels of commerce.