Magazine claims hog money was a top financial disaster

Today’s Bermudians have a romantic fondness for the Hog Penny, but when the money was first issued islanders detested it.

How badly did they hate it?

As soon as Governor Daniel Tucker left Bermuda, they discarded it and replaced it with tobacco as the new currency.

Bermuda’s Hog Money was listed at number 2 of “The 5 Most Surreal Financial Apocalypses from History” on cracked.com, one of the world’s top 1,000 most visited websites.

The report was based on a chapter in book Money of the Caribbean, by the American Numismatic Society. Mark Sportack wrote the chapter entitled ‘The Myths and Mysteries of the Somers Ilands Hogge Money'.

The report said: Eventually the colonists started causing trouble, so the companies appointed a new governor/manager -- Daniel Tucker -- to calm s*** down and get the profits flowing again.

“So to be clear, this was a guy who was in charge of the business side (hiring/firing) and was the supreme ruler of the land (he publicly hanged anyone caught speaking out against him).

“So imagine the disdain you feel for the worst boss you ever had, combined with the seething hatred of a brutal dictator felt by the oppressed. That was how Bermuda felt about Tucker.

“To help get his workforce under control, Tucker disbanded the entire "work for credit" system and paid the colonists with coins that he brought with him.

“Unlike legitimate British currency, Tucker's coins were made from brass, which made them slightly more valuable than an old tuba. Evidently deliberating for long hours on what to stamp on each coin face to invigorate the staff, somebody settled on a wild pig, causing the people to refer to it as "hogge money." People literally only used the currency because they knew Tucker would kill or torture them if they didn't.”