1652 Pine Tree Shilling Small Planchet, Noe-16, PCGS MS62 CAC The surfaces of this rare, mint state early colonial 1652 Pine Tree Shilling glisten with satin mint luster. They are predominantly caramel-gold with shades of blue-green throughout. The surfaces are original and unabraded. There is a faint, small lamination below the lower right-side branch. The coin was struck from a broken die that shows the two lowest left branches nearly merged and also connects obverse design elements from 5 to 6 oclock.

The reverse is nearly perfectly centered, and the obverse is only slightly misaligned toward 6 oclock resulting in a few missing border beads. The letters of the inscriptions are well separated from the edge and are well struck. The designs in the centers are clear but show moderate softness. The obverse of the coin shows a tree centered within a circle of beads. It is surrounded by the inscription MASATHVSETS followed by a small design of five dots surrounding a center dot and then IN. The reverse shows the date, 1652, and the denomination, XII, encircled by beads. The surrounding inscription is NEW ENGLAND. AN. DO. An outer circle of beads is at the edge of the periphery.

The Pine Tree coins were originally called Boston or Bay Shillings. Numerous 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.

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.

There were two types of Pine Tree issues the large and small. The coins were all dated 1652, when the Puritans took power from the English Royalists. Minted in quantity, the Large Shillings include AN DOM in the reverse legend. The Small Shillings use AN DO instead. There are numerous varieties because die steel was not readily available, and dies had to be reused.

With the monarchy restored, 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.

After 1675 coinage consisted of Small Pine Tree Shillings, which were still dated 1652. Mintages were immense because the colonists realized that the Crown would soon prohibit any coins being minted in the colonies. 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 colonys 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.

In mint state Small Planchet Pine Tree shillings are exceptionally rare. As a type they are more rare than Large Planchet shillings. PCGS has certified 3 Small Planchet coins in Mint State, one MS61, MS62, and MS64. NGC has certified one Mint State coin in MS62. The present coin is tied for the second finest know with 1 better.