Unlike conquistadores in the Latin American colonies, when European settlers first came to northeastern North America, they sought to establish permanent communities based around agriculture and local commerce and free from the social and religious persecution they felt in their home countries. They brought seeds, livestock, and tools. They brought subsistence goods like tools and clothing. What they didn’t bring, at least in any quantity, was money.
A Bartering Society Emerges
The presumption was that “commodity money,” really just a system of barter, would suffice. Everything from musket balls to moose hides to molasses was used in exchange for goods and services as long as the parties could agree on value. The Virginia colony even established tobacco as an official currency. Most commodities were tied to specific amounts of British coinage; for example, a bushel of corn might be valued at 3 shillings.
But like societies elsewhere, they soon discovered that money was easier to trade than commodities, so they began developing currency of their own.
The Birth of North American Coinage
The first official North American coins in the British colonies were struck by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652. They were simple silver coins stamped with “NE” on one side and the denomination in English pence on the other in Roman numerals. But like many primitive coins made of precious metal, the “NE coins” were subject to cutting off small areas and saving the metal for later use in a process known as clipping. The problem was addressed by making the coin design more elaborate and clipping more noticeable. The name Massachusetts was inscribed along with a ring of beads, and different symbols were centered on coins of different denominations. This led to the coins being described by their central design.
“Willow Tree” coins were hammer-struck from 1653-1660 when they were superseded by Oak Tree coinage made on rocker presses. The Oak Tree design was replaced by a Pine Tree in the center in 1667 through 1682. Produced by Boston silversmith John Hull, these coins all bear the date 1652. One possible explanation is that by English law only the monarch could mint coins in the colonies and the throne was vacant after the beheading of Charles I until Charles II assumed it in 1660.
Colonial Coinage Spreads
Other colonies, including Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and Vermont minted coins of their own as well as later tin “American Plantation,” and brass “Rosa Americana” coins for wider distribution. Private concerns made several coins of their own, too, the most notable of which was the Brasher Doubloon, a gold coin based on Spanish coins of a similar type.
In addition to these native coins, much commerce in the colonies was conducted with foreign coins, especially those of Spain, England, and the Netherlands.
National Coins Are Born…Along With a Hobby
The 1789 US constitution provided for the establishing of a national mint and coinage of federal currency, but foreign coins, especially from Spanish colonies, remained common in circulation until the Coinage Act of 1857 discontinued their use.
US colonial coins are very popular among collectors and historians and have intriguing stories to tell. While many are rare and quite expensive to own, several others are affordably priced and excellent starts to a fascinating hobby. We’ll look at some of the most interesting ones in future blogs.
