Kudos to the CuDo! A Look at Bricklyn’s Unique Currency

by Paul B. Macro, Bricklyn Eagle Business & Economics Correspondent
August 10, 2021

Summary of Article ➤ Bricklyn’s official currency is the CopperDonut. Learn about the fascinating history of the “CuDo” and how it relates to both the Republic of Vermont and donuts.

*The Realm of Bricklyn’s CopperDonut is modeled after the Republic of Vermont’s Coppers. The reverse side of a one CuDo coin is shown here. Current value of a one CuDo is approx. 75 cents U.S.*

The CopperDonut — or CuDo 🍩 as it is commonly called — is Bricklyn’s official currency, adopted in 1971 to replace the Danish krone.

The CuDo both honors Vermont (which welcomed in LEGO immigrants from the Danish Realm) and recognizes the key role that donuts play in Bricklyn, which bills itself as The Donut Capital of America.

➤ During the 14 years of its existence, the independent Vermont Republic used its own currency, including from 1785-1788 copper coins. The Coppers were minted by Reuben Harmon, Jr. of Rupert, with a view of the Sun rising over the Green Mountains, on its obverse side, and the “all-seeing eye of Providence” surrounded by 13 stars on the reverse.

It should be noted that the Federal Council in 1971 considered replacing the Danish Krone with the U.S. Dollar, but Bricklynites at that time were angered by U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. As a result the Federal Council responded to public pressure by nixing the original plan to adopt the dollar, choosing instead to issue its own currency, the CopperDonut.

The CopperDonut’s Design

It was in appreciation of Vermont’s assistance in the founding of the Tri-Partite Realm of Bricklyn that Bricklyn’s founders decided to name and model their new currency after the Copper — the late 18th century Vermont Republic’s currency — using a slightly modified version of the Copper’s “Eye of Providence” design.

*Real, tasty, Bricklyn donuts in their right hands; CopperDonut coins in their left.*

At the same time, the newly formed Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce felt that the importance of donuts to Bricklyn should also be recognized in the Realm’s new coins.

Thus the similarity in look of the coin to a donut (though the coin is actually about 15 percent thinner than a typical donut).

Of course, being roughly the size, shape, and heft of an actual donut makes the CuDo an inordinately challenging piece of currency to carry around in a purse or pocket, despite the fact that the blended copper is wafer thin — less than the amount of jelly in a jelly donut. As a result some Bricklynites have taken to using CuDo containers.

As a practical matter, paper CuDo notes are more widely used, but the historic coin CuDo remains popular among Bricklynites!

The CuDo is not without a special kind of risk: cracked teeth.

This happens when individuals (often drunk, stoned, or donut-crazed) inadvertently bite into a CuDo thinking it’s a baked donut.

Another dental patient who bit into a CuDo mistaking it for a fresh baked donut.

Biting into the thin layer of copper inside a CuDo can cause dental damage, perhaps explaining why Bricklyn has an inordinately high number of dentists! ✥