The Bermuda Hog Penny: How Wild Pigs Inspired the Island’s First Currency
What do wild pigs, Spanish sailors and Bermuda’s first settlers have in common? The answer lies in one of the island’s most fascinating historical treasures—the Bermuda Hog Penny.
Although Bermuda takes its name from the Spanish navigator Juan de Bermúdez, who recorded the island’s existence in 1505, he never actually set foot ashore. Nevertheless, his discovery would ultimately lead to an unexpected invasion of wild pigs—and inspire the design of Bermuda’s earliest coins.
Once Bermúdez reported the location of the island to the Spanish Crown, Bermuda became a useful landmark for ships crossing the Atlantic between Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas. While most mariners wisely avoided the mysterious island—terrified by the eerie cries of the cahow, which earned Bermuda the nickname “The Isle of Devils”— it is believed that some captains may have left pigs ashore as a living food supply for future voyages.
In the absence of any natural predator, the pigs thrived and multiplied rapidly.
When the English survivors of the Sea Venture shipwreck came ashore in 1609, Bermuda’s wild hogs proved to be an invaluable source of food, helping to ensure their survival and ultimately leading to the establishment of a permanent settlement in 1612. In recognition of the animals that sustained the fledgling colony during its earliest years, the Somers Isles Company introduced Bermuda’s own copper-brass coinage between 1616 and 1624.
These small coins became known as Hog Pennies. One side featured a wild hog, while the reverse depicted a sailing ship—a fitting tribute to an island whose history was shaped by the sea.
Today, the Bermuda Hog Penny is widely regarded as the first coin struck for use in an English colony in the New World.
Unfortunately, the coins were cheaply made and easy to counterfeit. The Somers Isles Company eventually ordered them withdrawn from circulation and instructed settlers to surrender their Hog Pennies to be destroyed. Unsurprisingly, many chose not to comply.
Over the centuries, Hog Pennies have been discovered hidden in limestone caves, beneath the floorboards of old houses and in secret caches throughout the island. Each one offers a tangible connection to Bermuda’s earliest years—a time when shipwrecks changed history, wild pigs roamed the island’s forests and an unlikely animal became immortalised on Bermuda’s first currency.