Samuel Higley was born in Simsbury, Connecticut and for two years attended the Collegiate School, later Yale University. Afterwards he became a teacher and pupil of physician Thomas Hooker. He was eventually granted license to practice as a medical doctor. He was also a practicing blacksmith, to whom in 1728 the Connecticut General Court granted exclusive rights for making steel for a period of 10 years. Upon the death of his father, Higley inherited land near Simsbury, known as Copper Hill, which he augmented by purchase of 143 acres. Here about 1730 he settled. By early 1733, Higley had begun mining copper on his own property.

The first so-called "Higley coppers" (Trader's Currency Token of the Colony of Connecticut) bear the date 1737. Although there is no firm evidence that links Higley to coin minting, since colonial times he has been associated with these Connecticut tokens. Certainly he had the copper necessary, as well as the skill to make steel dies. Of the 1737 coppers, four varieties have an obverse with legend THE VALUE OF THREE PENCE and roman numeral III. A listing of Higley coppers by Daniel Freidus lists 15 varieties in total, from 8 obverse and 5 reverse dies. Since most Higley Coppers are double struck, researchers believe that the hammer method rather than a screw press was used to make them. The sizes of these coins varied, but they were approximately the size of a modern half-dollar.