Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-10-22

1t would seem eminently proper
that our first exhibit should embrace
specimens Of the first or pioneer
metal coinage Of the American
colonies, the historic Pine Tree money
coined in the town Of Boston in 1852
| in the earliest American mint of
which we have any record.
Their great rarity entities them to
be shown in a section by themselves
and few words describing them and
their history may be of interest.
The few coins circulating in the
American colonies in the early days
were principally those Of England,
Spain or Holland. There was such
a scarcity of these however that it
was common to carry on trade by
barter of skins, cattle and other arti-
cles of common use. Massachusetts
even made musket balls. if full bore,
a legal tender by law, to the amount
of shilling's worth, and it is mat
ter of record that under the ad-
ministration of Sir Edmund Andres
the public demand upon the town of
bingham was paid in milk pals.
The little good coin that found it's
way into the colonies was constantly
drained away by the European mer-
chants while that which remained was
largely lightweight Spanish coin,
clipped or mutiated which came in
from the West Indian Islands, the re-
ceipt Of which subjected the colonists
to considerable loss.
The difficulty experienced in carry
ing on trade under such conditions
can well be imagined and of the sew
eral colonies Massachusetts made the
| first effectual movement to obviate
the inconvenience when her general
court on May. q. 1852, passed an act
providing for the establishment of a
mint for the coinage of shillings, six
pence and threepence.
The design prescribed was simply
that IN. F." should be stamped on one
side and the denomination in pence
on the reverse of the COIN They were
rudely shaped and had a private mint
mark known only to the governor and
he mint authorities.
+ John Hull of Boston, skillful
Esilversmith, was chosen mint master
and was allowed as compensation one
SHILLING for every twenty coined. All
persons having bullion, plate or Span
ish coin were allowed to bring it to
the mint and be present while the
same was being melted, refined and
alloyed and received from the mint
master like weight in current coin
These coins are excessively rare be-
Ing coined less than three months.
The rude design before mentioned
appears to have been too plain to suit
| the Colonists for at the assembly of
| the next general court in Oct. of the
same year I652) four months after
the act establishing the mint It was
decreed that the type should be al
| tered and that the diverse of the coin
should be double ring enclosing "a
| tree with the inscription "Masathu-
sets around it and on the reverse
| New England" with the year of our
LORD "1f52," and the respective values
III. ~ III, II, /.
| The three first demonstrations
shillings. sixpence and threepence.
only were struck off at this time,
probably because the mint master
could make better commits sion by
coming the larger pieces, and the two
| penny pieScS iolioWeu ten years later
in 1862. the date they bear.
The onepenny in silver was never
coined. at least none are known to-
day. and the oldest authorities in
numismatics do not claim to have ever
seen specimen. These coins were or
dered to be of the fineness Of sterling
! silver and the shillings were to weigh
three penny weights Troy each and
that the work was faithfully done is
shown by recent assays. The writer
mas one very fine specimen of the
shilling piece which now after two