Pine tree shilling

{{short description|Historic unit of currency}}

File:LVPL-1CFD55 Silver pine tree shilling of Massachusetts, North America (FindID 285997).jpg

The pine tree shilling was a type of coin minted and circulated throughout the Thirteen Colonies.

In 1652, the Massachusetts Bay Colony authorized Boston silversmiths John Hull and Robert Sanderson to mint coinage.{{cite web|url=https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMDJHN_The_Hull_Mint_Boston_MA |title=The Hull Mint - Boston, MA - Massachusetts Historical Markers |publisher=Waymarking.com |date= |accessdate=2022-05-04}} Prior to 1652, the Massachusetts financial system was based on bartering and foreign coinage. The scarcity of coin currency was a problem for the growth of the New England economy. On May 27, 1652, the Massachusetts General Court appointed John Hull, a local silversmith, to be Boston's mint master without notifying or seeking permission from the British government.

Coins were issued in denominations of 3 and 6 pence and 1 shilling. The first pieces bore the letters "NE" and the denomination "III", "VI" or "XII". The coins were smaller than the equivalent sterling coins by 22.5%.[http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/NECoinage.intro.html N E Coinage Introduction]

Later pieces, struck between 1652 and 1660 or 1662, bore the image of a willow tree,[http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/WillowTree.intro.html Willow Tree Introduction] with an oak tree[http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/OakTree.intro.html Oak Tree Introduction] appearing on coins produced between 1660 or 1662 and {{circa}} 1667. However, the most famous design was the final one to be issued, the pine tree type, struck between ca. 1667 and 1682.[http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/PineTree.intro.html Pine Tree Coinage Introduction] The coins circulated widely inside North America and the Caribbean.

The pine tree shillings nearly all bore the date "1652". This was the date of the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislation sanctioning the production of shillings by the "Hull Mint" operated by John Hull and Robert Sanderson (two Massachusetts settlers and business partners). The image of the pine tree on the later coins is thought to represent the export of tall timber, used for the mainmasts of British ships of war (among other things they were used for). The implication of respect owed to the colonies as the source of this vital war material would become sharper with the Pine Tree Flag flown during the American Revolution.[http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/printable/coin.cfm?coincode=1_00&coinside=front NMAH | Legendary Coins & Currency: Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling, "1652" (struck 1667–1674)] The mint was shut down by the English government in 1682 and the Colony's charter was revoked two years later by Charles II on the advice of his colonial administrator Edward Randolph.