Common, scarce and rare U.S. Colonial Coins (1616-1775) at Mintmark.com; updated 24/7. Don't see what you're looking for? Please contact us with your wantlist. Thanks!
1652 Oak Tree Shilling
"COLONIAL ISSUES. . . British New World Issues. . . Massachusetts ('New England'; Coinage [1652]). . . The General Court in 1652 ordered the first metallic currencythe New England¹ silver threepence [NE Threepence], sixpence [NE Sixpence], and shilling [NE Shilling]to be struck in the English Americas (the Spaniards had established a mint in Mexico City in 1535). Silver bullion [q.v., gold bullion coins] was procured principally from the West Indies. The mint was located in Boston, Massachusetts, and John Hull was appointed mintmaster²; his assistant was Robert Sanderson (or Saunderson). At first, Hull received as compensation one shilling threepence for every 20 shillings coined. This fee was adjusted several times during his term as mintmaster . . . The simplicity of the designs on the NE coins invited counterfeiting and clipping of the edges. Therefore, they were soon replaced by the Willow, Oak and Pine Tree series. The Willow Tree coins were struck from 1653 to 1660, the Oak Trees from 1660 to 1667, and the Pine Trees from 1667 to 1682. All of them (with the exception of the Oak Tree twopence) bore the date 1652, which gives them the appearance of having been struck when Cromwell was in power, after the English civil war. The coinage was abandoned in 1682; a proposal to renew coinage in 1686 was rejected by the General Court. Early American coins were produced from handmade dies that are often individually distinctive. The great number of die varieties that can be found and identified are of interest to collectors who value each according to individual rarity . . ." Colonial Issues, A Guide Book of United States Coins
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