1652
Pine Tree Shilling PCGS MS62 Secure, CAC Click on Coin Image to
enlarge
1652
Pine Tree Shilling PCGS MS62 CAC - $42,500
Large Planchet, N Reversed. Only 1
higher at PCGS. All Pine Tree coinage is rare. In
their population reports, both major grading services
show that all No Pellets at Trunk Large Planchet shillings
are rare in all grades.
In
Mint State condition, Large Planchet Pine Tree shillings
are exceptionally rare. Top this important early American
rarity off with a CAC approval sticker and this is
an incredible acquisition for the investor or advanced
collector specializing in early American Colonial
Coinage.
Please contact me by email
or telephone 1-941-291-2156
to reserve this great coin.
The CAC
sticker indicates that the coin is a premium quality
piece that fully deserves the assigned grade. The
coin is a light, silvery gray in color with touches
of gold, light lilac, rose, and green, further confirming
the coin’s originality. The surfaces are hard
and glossy with minimal abrasion marks, as expected
for a Mint State piece. The coin, which was struck
on a large planchet, was clipped and weighs 4.699
grams. It was well struck for the issue with all the
inscriptions completely legible and a nearly complete
center circle of beads on both sides. The design is
perfectly centered on both sides, and only part of
some letters and some of the border beads are missing
because of the clips.
The obverse of the coin shows a tree
centered within a circle of beads. It is surrounded
by the inscription MASATHVSETS followed by IN. The reverse
shows the date, 1652, and the denomination, XII, encircled
by beads. The surrounding inscription is NEW ENGLAND.
AN. DOM. An outer circle of beads is at the edge of
the periphery.
The Pine Tree coins were originally
called “Boston” or “Bay Shillings.”
Many varieties exist because the period of production
was extended from 1662 to 1682. During this time the
handmade dies wore out or broke easily, requiring
constant replacement. There were two types of Pine
Tree issues the large and small. Minted in quantity,
the Large Shillings include AN DOM in the reverse
legend. The Small Shillings use AN DO instead.
In order to keep money in the colony,
a law was passed in 1654 prohibiting exportation of
more than twenty shillings upon penalty of total forfeiture.
This law was needed because Massachusetts colonists
traded with people of other colonies, and the coinage
was constantly being depleted.
The coins were all dated 1652, during
the time that the Puritans took power from the English
Royalists and created the Commonwealth of England,
which was established in 1649. Oliver Cromwell defeated
the Royalist coalition and ruled as Lord Protector
of England from 1653 to 1658. He left the American
colonies for the most part to their own affairs, only
intervening when his fellow Puritans tried to usurp
control of the Maryland Colony.
During this time, the colonists were
free to coin their own money. The monarchy was restored
in 1660, but the colony continued to mint coins, an
act of treason. To ameliorate this situation, Massachusetts
Puritans sent King Charles II presents, one of which
was a shipload of masts for the Royal Navy. Even using
the 1652 date could not hide evidence of coinage in
the colonies after the Restoration.
Political gifts were given from time
to time to the King and to the Massachusetts government
by the mint masters and by the Court to the King.
For example in 1667 the mint masters paid the public
treasury forty pounds and ten pounds for the next
seven years, and in 1677: “It is ordered that
the Treasurere doe forthwith prouide ten barrels of
Cranburyes, two hogsheads of speciall Good Sampe,
and three thousand of Cod fish, to be sent to our
messengers, by them to be presented to his Majesty
as a present from this Court.”
Many Pine Tree coins show teeth marks
and evidence of bending, souvenirs of the Salem witchcraft
problems of 1692. A bent coin would ward off witches’
spells. The smaller shillings were not bent as often
as the large ones because they were made from thicker
flans and could not be bent easily. However, they were
often counterfeited, shaved, and clipped.
In 1684, King James II revoked the
charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A police
state was established in the province. Later a new
governor was sent by the authorities to restore the
conditions that existed prior to 1652. Sir Edmond
Andros was the individual sent by the King. He went
to Hartford, Connecticut and tried to seize the colony’s
charter, but it was hidden in a tree. It became known
as the Charter Oak, which is pictured on the Connecticut
State Quarter of 1999. When James II was ousted, Andros
was shipped back to England.
Although the Pine Tree Shillings were
replaced by paper currency that became severely devalued,
the Pine Tree coinage remained the preferred means of
exchange along with Mexican dollars.
The coins of Massachusetts show the
beginning of a tradition of opposition to interference
by England in internal affairs of the colonies. They
represent the first step towards the Boston Tea Party,
the Sons of Liberty, and the Revolution that would
follow.