Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1858-01-27
MISCELL A N Y =.
The Pine-Tree Shilling.
BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORN.

The Pine-Tree Shilling.
BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORN.
Captain John Hull was the mint-master Of
Massachusetts,, and coined all the money that
was made there. His was new line of busi-
ness, for, in the earlier day of the colony, the
current coinage consisted of the gold and silver
money of England, Portugal and Spain. These
coins being scarce, the people were often forced
to barter their commodities instead OF selling
them.
For instance, if q man wanted to buy coat,
he perhaps exchanged bear-skin for it. Ii he
wished for barrel of moasses he might pur-
chase it with a pile of pine boards. Musket
bullets were used instead of tarthlngs. The In
dians had sort of money called wampum, which
was made of clam shells; and this strange sort
of specie was likewise taken in payment OF debts
by the English settlers. Bank bills had never
been heard Of There was not money enough OF
any kind, in many parts of the country, to pay
their ministers, so that they had sometimes to
take quintas of fish, bushels of corn, or cords OF
wood, instead of silver or gold.
As the people grew more numerous, and their
trade with one another increased, the want OF
current money was still more sensibly felt. 10
supply the demand, the general court passed a
law for establishing coinage OF shilllngs, SIX
pences aud three-pences Captain John Hull
was appointed to manufacture this money, and
was to have about one shilling out of every
twenty, to pay him for his trouble of making
them.
Hereupon, all the old silver in the colony was
handed over to Captain John Hull. The bat
tered silver cans and tankards, | suppose, and
silver buckles of WORKOUT coats, and silver hits
of swords that had figured at court-all such
curious old articles were doubtless thrown into
the melting pot together. But by far the great
er part of the silver consisted of bullion from
the mines of South America, which the English
buccaneers (who were little better than pirates)
had taken from the Spaniards, and brought to
Massachusetts,.
All this old and new silver being melted down
and coined, the result was an immense amount
of splendid shillingS, six-pences and three-pen'
ces. Each had the date of 1862 on the one side
and the figure of pine-tree on the other side
hence they were called pine-tree shilngs; and
for every twenty shillings that he coined, you
will remember, Captain John Hull was entitled
to put one shilling in his own pocket.
The magistrates soon began to suspect that
the mint master would have the best of the bar
gain. They offered him large sum of money,
if he would give up that Goth shilling, which he
was continually dropping into his own pocket
But Captain Hull declared he was perfectly sat-
is6ed with the shilling. And well he might be
for so diligently did he labor, in few years,
his pockets his money bags, and his strong box
were overfowing with pine tree shiilings This
was probably the case when he came into pos
session of grandtathef2S CHAIR; AID as he had
worked so hard at the mint it was certainly
proper that he should have comfortable chair
to rest himself on.
When the mint-master had grown very rich,
q Young man, Samuel Sewell by name, came a.
counting his only daughter. His daughter
whose name / do not know but we will call
her Betsey-Betsey, was fine, hearty damsel,
by no means so slender as some young ladies OF
our own days. OF the contrary, having always
fed heartily on pumpkin pies, dough-nuts, In
dian-puddings, and other Puritan danties, she
was round and plump as pudding. With this
round, rosy Miss Betsey did Samuel Sewell fall
in love. As he was young man of good char,
acter, industrious in business, and member OF
the church, the mint-master very readily gave
his consent.
"Yes-you may take her," said heir his rough
way "and you will find her o heavy burden
enough"
On the wedding day we may suppose that
honest Hull dressed himself in q plain colored
coat all the buttons of which were made pine
tree shillings. The buttons of his waist-coat
six pences, and the knees of his small clothes
were buttoned with silver three pences. Thus
attired, lie sat with great dignity in his grand
fathers chair; and being a portly old gentle
man, he completely filed it from elbow to ell
bow. On the opposite side of the room, be
tween her bridesmaids, sat Miss Betsey. She
was blushing with all her might and looked
like full bloom peony, great red apple, or any
other round and scarlet object
There too was the bridegroom, dressed in a
fine purple coat and gold lace waist.coat, with
as much other inery as the Puritan laws and
customs would allow him to put on. His hair
was cropt close to his head, because Governor
Endicott had forbidden any man to wear it be-
low the ears. But he was very personable
young man; and so thought the bride maids,
and Miss Betsey herself
The mint master, also, was pleased with his
new son-in-law, especially as he had said moth
ing at all about her portion; so when the marr-
age ceremony was over, Captain Hull whisper
ed word to two of his man-servants, who lug
ged in large pair of scales. They were such
pair as wholesale merchants use for weighing:
bulky commodity was now to be weighed in
them.
Daughter Betsey," said the mint-master, $50
into one side of the scales"
Miss Betsey (or Mrs. Sewell, as we must now
call herr did as she was bid, like dutiful child,
without any questions of why and wherefore !;
but what her father could mean, unless to make
her husband pay for her by the pound Gn which
case she would have been dear bargain) she
had not the least idea.
"And now," said honest John Hull to his
servants, "bring the box hither."
The box to which the mint-master pointed
was huge, square, iron-bound oaken chest; it
was big enough, my children, for all four of you
to play hide-and-seek in.
The servants tugged with might and main,
but could not lift this enormous receptacle, and
were finally obliged to drag it across the floor.
Captain Hull then took key out of lis girdle,
unlocked the chest, and lifted its pon6erous lid
Behold 1t was full to the brim of bright pine
shillings, fresh from the mint; and Samuel Sc
well began to think that his father-in-law had
got possession of all the money in the Massachu-
setts Treasury but il was only the mint-mas-